Bend or broken- it's a family tree
by RedDevil11
Summary: Modern Day AU: Emma decides to look for her birthfather, who might not know she exists. Besides secrets, that have been burried for years, she might also find new friends and family. But the path to forgiveness might take a while. And the thing buried along with the secrets could be love.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Father's day.

Emma Swan glanced at the calendar as if her frown and stern look would make the words vanish from the piece of paper hanging in her living room.

Father's day. There was no day in the world Emma despised more than this one. Happy families everywhere, enjoying their time together.

It was not that Emma's childhood had been completely horrible.

She had been placed in an orphanage on the day she was born. Due to a heart problem that had requested many surgeries in her first years of life, she had been four years old before she could even be placed in a foster home. It had been told to her many times that due her age and medical record, it was unlikely she would ever get adopted. But even then, she had envied all the children with parents.

But after being shoved back and forth from foster families and to group homes, Emma had found a permanent home at the age of seven, and the best mother she could ever wish for. But no father. So despite being happy with her life, her growing family and her friends, she still harboured hatred for that day.

However her wrath had been very hard to keep up in the last four years.

A knock on the door ripped her away from her unpleasant thoughts.

"Henry, get ready!" She called in the direction of her four years old son's bedroom as she made her way to the door.

She opened the door of her apartment and was greeted by Neal, Henry's father.

"Hey Ems. " He greeted her with a smile and hugged her shortly.

Most people found it weird that Emma was close friends with her son's father without the two of them having romantic feelings for each other. But the truth was, what Neal and Emma had, has never been romantic love. They had met in college and became close very fast. They started dating eventually and had one single night of sex together.  
After that night, they both awkwardly admitted to each other they had no such feelings for each other and ended their relationship. At least the relationship in that way. They were still the closest friends.

Once Emma had found out she was pregnant, Neal had stood by her and they decided to raise their child together. So now they were living in the same building, spending most days together with Henry in Emma's apartment.

And who had thought that wasn't weird enough, was blown away by the fact that Neal had fixed up Emma with his best friend and childhood companion, Killian Jones. And Emma couldn't be happier about it.

"Hey Neal. Come in, Henry is just getting ready for your big long weekend away. " Emma explained as she waved Neal in to follow her to the living room, where Killian was sitting on the couch.

As she walked in, she caught Neal intensively staring at her hand.  
She looked at him in confusion. "Neal, is there something on my hand?"

Neal tried to hide a frown. "No, Emma. There is indeed nothing on your hand." At the ladder statement, he sent a glance to Killian and the two men exchanged a look.

Emma raised her eyebrow at the both of them, but when no explanation came, she decided to just let it go for the moment. Both men couldn't keep secrets for long anyway, especially from her. So she decided to get up and check on her son.

"Hey buddy, your dad is here. Are you ready to go?" She asked gently when she got to Henry's room. She found her son looking through a stack of paper on his small desk. His room looked like a tornado had passed through it. He was clearly looking for something.

His green eyes lit up in delight as he had obviously found what he had been looking for.  
"Yes, mommy. But I have to do something first before we can go. It's very important." Emma chuckled and ruffled his dark brown hair in affection.  
Nobody would assume he was only four years old when hearing him talk.

The little guy rushed out of his room, a piece of paper in each hand, and made his way to the living room with Emma behind him carrying his backpack.

In the living room, Killian and Neal had obviously been discussing a very secret matter, as they instantly fell silent when Henry and Emma entered the room.

Henry rushed to greet his father and gave him one of the two pictures.  
"Happy father's day, papa!" Henry exclaimed.  
Neal was delighted at the painting of him and Henry and hugged his son.

But Henry didn't remain with him for long and made his way to Killian, proudly giving him the other picture. It showed Killian and Henry on Killian's boat.

Killian was so touched by the gesture that words failed him and instead pulled the boy in for a tight hug.

Killian had first met Emma when she was six months pregnant. Neal had wanted to introduce his two friends for some time, but Emma had refused it constantly. She was well aware that Neal wanted to set her up with his attractive friend, but she didn't want any man to meet her when she looked like she had swallowed a watermelon, as she had said. Besides, she didn't think any man would want to stick around with her when she was in this strange situation.

But one day, when Emma was hanging out at Neal's newly rented apartment, Neal had "accidently" told Killian to come by, too. Neither Killian nor Emma had believed in the concept of love at first sight, but there was no other description for what had happened between the two of them when Emma had opened the door and found Killian on the other side.

Four and a half years later, they were still madly in love. After Henry had turned one, Killian had officially moved in with them, though he had practically lived with them already before that.

And Killian had not just fallen in love with Emma instantly. Emma's heart swelled every time she watched her boyfriend and son together. Their bound was so deep, they had a connection neither Neal nor Emma had with Henry. Henry might not call Killian "dad", but that was just what he was to Henry.

She watched the three most important men in her life in joy, but couldn't deny a tiny part of her envied her son as he had two fathers, who loved him with all their hearts, and she had none.

Later that day, she was sitting together with her best friend Lily in a café.  
"Have you ever wondered who your father is?" Emma suddenly asked her friend.  
Lily looked at her in confusion, clearly not expecting this question.

Lily and Emma had met when they were five and both living in the same group home. Lily had been taken away from her mother as she had been a drug addict. Lily had been given back to her mother Mal two years later and Emma had been sent to her final foster home, but the two had always stayed in touch and had been best friends since then.

"No, I guess not. But why should I? I have my mom. She is all the family I need. Plus you and your guys, of course. Why are you asking, Emma? Is father's day bugging you again?"

Emma was still absentminded. "I think so. It's just… I don't even know if he knows about me. If he is dead or alive. If he is looking for me or if he is oblivious to my existence . I don't know anything. This day has always made it worse. But now that I get to see Henry with Neal and Killian… I don't know, I just wonder. I feel… kind of incomplete."

Lily sighed. "Well, you work as a private investigator. If you wanted to know your father, I'm sure you could locate him."

"You have been so sad all day, my love. Everything alright?" Killian asked later as he and Emma got ready for bed that night.

"It's just ... Father's day is getting to me." She muttered.

Killian wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. "Ah yes, I normally dislike that day, too. It is a yearly occasion for my brother to beg me to speak to our bastard of a father again. But this year, the lad made it all better. I think I will hang the picture into my office tomorrow. I don't care if my brother will mock me about it, I love it." When the mention of her son couldn't get Emma to smile, he went on. "Emma, don't let that day have such power over you. It's just a stupid day. Neal and I both know our fathers and they are both horrible and abandoned us. Having a father doesn't mean you have a good father. And from my experience I can tell you I would rather have no father at all than the one I am biologically cursed with."

"I have been thinking about finding mine. I agree with you that some fathers are horrible. But I have to find out about mine. This will always haunt me if I don't. And I don't want that. I want closure on this. One way or another. " Emma explained, determined. She looked into her boyfriend's eyes, waiting for the disapproval. But instead she found love and support.

"If this is what you need to do, I will be with you every step of the way. I don't want you to get hurt, but if it hurts you constantly not to know, I will help you find closure. And if he is stupid enough to not want you, I will tell him just what an amazing woman you are. And then I would probably punch him."

For the first time that day, Emma burst out in laughter. No matter what would happen, she would have her friends and family with her. And it didn't matter if her birth parents loved her, there were enough people who did.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting at the table in the office he shared with his older brother Liam, Killian was busy looking through some papers. They had been running a shipping company together for three years. Business was very good, their shipping calendar filling up every week.

Killian had lost his mother when he was only six, and his father deserted his sons not even a month later. They had been taken in by their maternal aunt, but it had basically been Liam who had raised his younger by six years brother.

In the first years after his father's disappearance and his mother's death, Killian had found it hard to trust people and letting new people into his life. But not long after moving in with his aunt, he became friends with Neal Cassidy, who had been shipped off by his father to live with an old family friend, who had also raised him. The old lady was hardly fit to take care of a young and wild boy anymore, but his father didn't seem to care. But it didn't really matter, because soon after, Neal started to spend almost all of his time at Killian's.

It had hurt the two friends very much to be parted when high school graduation came along. Neal's father had practically ordered him to attend a fancy college.

Neal himself had very little desire to, but did so to make his father proud of him. Killian himself had little interest in college, and did not really have a plan as to what to do with his life.

Killian found himself in a very dark place after Neal and Liam's departure. He would spend his days gambling and drinking until his aunt threatened to throw him out. He reached his lowest point when he began an affair with a married woman when he was nineteen. It only lasted a few months, but ended really badly.

Once he had found out the woman who claimed she would leave her husband to be with him, also had a ten year old son she planned to abandon, Killian felt like waking up from a nightmare. He knew what it felt like to be left by a parent, so he could never bring himself to do something like that to any child.

So Killian packed up his stuff and moved to Boston, where Liam and Neal were living. He moved in with his brother, assuring him he would only stay until he got his own apartment. A job in the company Liam was working in was fast his own but as destiny had it, Killian never moved to an apartment all by himself. For, after only a few weeks of living in Boston, he met Emma Swan. The love of his life.

Killian smiled fondly at the picture standing on his desk that showed him, Emma and Henry on their trip to Disney Land last year. Henry had urged Emma to get dressed as a Disney princess, and Killian as Captain Hook.

His ringing phone tore him from his thoughts.

"So, did you do it already?" He heard Neal's impatient voice at the other end of the line.

Killian sighed in annoyance. "I can assure you, if I did, you would be the first one to get called."

"Damn it, Killian. We bought the ring like two months ago. When are you finally going to ask Emma to marry you?" His friend asked in slight anger.

"I'm waiting for the right moment, alright? Emma deserves for this to be perfect. And right now she is so caught up in finding out the identity of her father that this is hardly the time." Killian explained for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Keep telling that to yourself buddy, but I know you are putting this off because you are afraid she will say 'no'. Which she won't, by the way. So perfect moment or not, please just go ahead and ask her. I don't know how much longer I can keep it to myself. And we all know our sweet Henry is even worse at keeping secrets than I am. So you should really get this done, soon."

"'Get this done', how romantic! I'd rather go all out and show the woman of my dreams just how much I love her when I pop the question." Killian blurted out, angry at his friend for pushing him. Suddenly, Killian froze, excused himself and hung up.

Across from Killian, his brother was sporting the biggest grin he had ever seen. Killian blushed in embarrassment, knowing the mocking that would come.

"Popping the question to Emma, heh? Seems like I owe my brother in-law 20 bucks."

…

When Killian got home that day, he found Emma staring down at an envelope that lay in front of her at on the dining table.

"What is this, my love?" He asked, concerned, as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Emma was still frowning at the envelope, but wrapped her hands around his and leaned back to settle her head against his chest.

"My birth certificate. I just picked it up earlier. But I don't want to open it. Maybe his name isn't even on it."

"And you don't want to see your mother's name." he added, reading her mind as he always did. She stiffened in his arms. "Birth mother." she hissed.

"Of course, my love. Sorry. Speaking of mothers, why did you pick this up? I'm sure your mother has your birth certificate at home. It would have been faster to have asked her for this."

But Killian already knows why she didn't.

Emma turned to him and met his gaze. "Killian, I don't want her to get hurt. I don't want her to be disappointed in me. I don't want her to think she is not enough for me. You know her, she'll think I want to replace her. Even if I just want to find out who my father is, she will think I want to find my birth mother, too, because I don't love her. And she will try to talk me out of this because she'll think she would lose me."

There was not much to be said after that.

Ingrid Swan was a very headstrong and sometimes quite fearful woman, that is if you wanted to hurt her family. This woman was not only the adoptive mother of his girlfriend, but also the aunt of his sister in-law Elsa.

And once she had found out the Jones brothers were after her precious Emma and Elsa, she had been very hard on them. It had taken years to convince her they were both in it for the long haul and would not hurt her girls.

But if Ingrid were to be faced with the possibility of Emma getting hurt by the people who gave her up, she would never let that happen. She would always protect Emma with all she had, even from herself. When Killian looked at the two blonde stubborn women, it was hard to believe they were not related to each other by blood given how much alike they were.

"Alright, Emma, maybe you are right and you should just tell her once you have found your father and she can see there was no danger there for you in whatever sort of way. It is your decision, and I will respect it." Killian declared honestly after thinking for a moment.

"Thank you." Emma rewarded him with a smile that lit her whole face and a kiss.

Parting away, Emma leaned towards him and gave him her best puppy-dog look. "Killian, would you mind opening it and tell me my father's name? Well, if it is on there."

Killian chuckled and placed a quick kiss to her lips. "Like I could deny you anything, my beautiful Swan."

He reached around her to grab the envelope and went to sit on the chair next to hers. Carefully sliding out the paper inside, he read the two names written along with his girlfriend's.

"Well, love, his name is on there. It seems his name is David Nolan."

He waited if she would ask for the name of her birth mother, but Emma was already grabbing her phone and giving the name to her colleague Graham Humbert to look for the man. Graham had suggested he could look for her father, so in case he was not alive anymore, Emma wouldn't have to find out during her search, but could get the message gently delivered by a friend. Emma had only agreed to this suggestion after Killian, with the assistance of Neal and Lily, had urged her to.

Emma smiled at Killian in excitement after ending her call. "So, soon I should know where he lives. Graham is always very fast with this kind of things. Soon, I will know who my dad is. And I will meet him."

Killian went to take his girlfriend into his arms. "And I will be right there with you, Emma."

~~~~~~~~~~~CS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Snowing~~~~~~~~~~~~

 _Next up, Emma and Killian visit Storybrooke and go to see David._

 _Sorry, the update took so long. The next will be quicker, I promise._

 _I hope you like it, let me know what you think (maybe how I could make it better)._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A week later, Emma sat at the breakfast table staring down at the paper Graham had given her two days before. The address of one David Nolan.

"You're sure you don't want us to come with you, Ems?" Neal asked, concerned at the silence and thoughtfulness Emma had shown since receiving the address.

"We can help." Henry declared, backing up his father.

Emma smiled at their support, but shook her head. "No, Killian will come with me. This is enough for now. And who knows, if everything goes well, you two and Lily can come with us next time we visit there."

Her son was satisfied with that answer and went back to eating the pancakes Killian had made, but Neal didn't look convinced. He knew Emma too well and knew she was not as optimistic about the meeting as she wanted everyone to believe. But it was no use digging deeper, especially with Henry at the table.

…

The drive to the little town Storybrooke was silent. Killian had tried to cheer Emma up by making some jokes and playing some songs she liked in the car, but she was too lost in her thoughts. All assurance from Neal and Lily she had gotten before their departure, that anyone not instantly loving her was simply stupid and didn't deserve to get to know the wonderful person she was, was all forgotten. All she could think of was that her father probably would slam the door in her face and tell her to stay away from him. Why would he want to get to know her?

They had made no reservations for a hotel or anything as Emma wanted to be flexible, in case she wanted to leave the town immediately after being rejected by her father. Despite her protest, Killian had looked up a bed and breakfast in town as he was confident Emma's father would love to meet her and would like her to stay.

When the car stopped, Emma looked up in horror. She was not ready! She couldn't do this! Why the hell had she thought this was a good idea?

But Killian caught her look. "Don't worry, love. We are not at his place yet. But I'm afraid I'm a bit lost, so I was thinking about asking for directions." With that, he hopped out of the car and entered a carpenter shop.

Emma tried to calm her nerves as she sat alone in the car. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe her father would not hate her, maybe he would tell her why she had been given away. Yes, if she had that information, she could get on with her life and put her birthparents behind her. She didn't need his love or his approval. There were enough people who loved her.

As she pep-talked herself, she watched as two dark haired women walked past her car toward the local diner. They were chatting happily with each other. Maybe they were sisters. They looked like they were in their late thirties. One of them had dark brown hair that reached her shoulders, and under her dark red dress, a big baby bump visible. The other woman had black hair in a pixie cut and was wearing a flowery pink and yellow dress.

Emma frowned at the woman with the pixie cut. Somehow she seemed familiar, like Emma had seen her before.

But before she could eye the woman any more, Killian was back in the car. "Sorry it took so long, love. A friendly guy gave me directions, but I'm afraid we drifted off topic a bit."

Emma chuckled. "That's my Killian. We haven't even been in this town for ten minutes and you already made a friend."

Killian took the compliment with a smug grin, happy that Emma was back to her usual open self. "Well, that August fellow seemed really nice. If we come here more often, I could definitely see us hanging out together."

Emma's good mood disappeared very fast when they stopped again.

"This is it, love. According to the address Graham found, this house belongs to your… to David Nolan."

The house before them was beautiful. Exactly the way Emma imagined a classic small town family house to be. The façade was painted white, the roof was dark-red. The front yard had a dog house, and was wrapped in a white fence

Suddenly, the fear of knocking on the door and it being answered by a woman who was not her mother, surrounded by a bunch of children flashed in Emma's mind. But before the panic could overtake her once more, Killian took her hand in his and gave her a reassuring smile.

She leaned over to give him a peck on the lips. "How can you be so comforting without even saying a word?" She asked him teasingly, not waiting for a response.

When they reached the door, Emma reached straight for the bell and pressed it, not wanting to be able to change her mind. This is why she came here and she was going to meet her father, so she could finally let go of this part of her past. Whether he wanted to be in her future or not didn't matter, she thought to herself.

It only took a moment before a blonde, blue eyed, friendly looking man opened the door. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties or maybe early forties, so it could possibly be him, Emma thought to herself. Immediately, she began looking for any similarities with herself.

The man waited for a moment with patience, but when neither Emma nor Killian said anything, he asked with a friendly smile: "Can I help you?"

Emma blushed in embarrassment. If this was her father, she didn't want his first impression of her to be that she was strange or even crazy.

"Well, we are looking for David Nolan." She said in a weak voice.

The man laughed. "Well, you're lucky. That's me."

Emma was so overjoyed that she had finally found him. But she had no idea what she was going to say next. But luckily, Killian stepped in.

"Sir, I know you don't know us, but maybe we should talk somewhere private about this. It is quite a delicate matter."

David raised his eyebrows in suspicion. "Forgive me, but I'm the sheriff and a very careful person. So I don't really feel like inviting two strangers into my home. You two seem to be nice, but…"

But he was interrupted when Emma suddenly blurred out: "I'm your daughter."

"I'm sorry, what?" David responded, looking as if he was not sure he had heard correctly

"My name is Emma Swan and I'm your daughter. I was given up for adoption. And a few days ago I learned you were my biological father." She explained in a calm tone.

For a few minutes, David looked at Emma silently. Her face, her hair, her eyes.

"You are my daughter. I can't believe it." he said as he slowly stepped towards Emma and hesitantly reached out for her. She let go of Killian's hand and let herself fall into her father's embrace.

They both held onto each other for a moment and cried in silence. Killian smiled at this beautiful scene before him. He was so happy Emma had not only found her father, but was welcomed with open arms.

When they finally let go, David's gaze grew distant and rage showed on his face. He turned to Emma.

"Why don't you and your friend wait here. I have a bone to pick with someone."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was really a normal day for David. It was his day off, so he slept in a little. At the breakfast table, he was greeted by Buster, the bulldog always looking for something to eat. His wife Kathryn and him had made some light conversation over the newspaper before she had gone off to work.

David knew his marriage was in a bad state, but he always thought it was alright. He could not be with the woman he wanted, so they had settled for this. It was their fathers' wish and so they both had to do it.

Kathryn was a nice woman, really. He could have done way worse. And maybe soon they would finally have children to bring both of them happiness. They had been trying for some time now, but no result so far. Lately, Kathryn didn't seem so engaged happy with the idea anymore, but David assumed it was just because of the many times they had hoped in vain for a child.

Just when David thought about what he should do with the day, the doorbell rang and his life was changed forever.

The beautiful young woman claimed to be his daughter.

That could not be. How could he have a daughter and not know about her?

He took a moment to scan her face and search for similarities. She seemed to have his hair, his nose, his smile (even if she was just weakly showing it). But just one look into her eyes and he knew. He knew she was his daughter.

It was strange how much you can suddenly love someone you didn't know existed a few minutes before. But when he took his daughter, Emma, into his arms, he felt like his heart was about to burst. He didn't need a paternity test or a birth certificate to know she was his daughter. Her eyes gave it all away.

But suddenly the joy was overtaken by anger. Her eyes didn't give her away because they were like his, but rather because they were like her mother's. Her mother, who had not told him he had a daughter for decades!

He carefully pulled away from his daughter.

It was exactly about the time she was usually in the diner, he thought. He had to confront her now. This could not wait. He had to get her to tell him the truth. He deserved it!

"Why don't you and your friend wait here. I have a bone to pick with someone."

He tried to be calm, but he could see on Emma's face that he wasn't fooling her.

"No, we'll come with you." She insisted, stepping forward to reach for his hand. But as much as it pained him to do so, he drew his hand away.

"Emma, please wait here. This is really important and has obviously waited for way too long. But I promise I'll be back soon." David looked into her eyes to make her understand how serious it was.

Before she could talk back, he was already storming off towards the diner.

When he reached Granny's door, he saw through the window that she was still there, sitting in her usual booth with her stepsister, Regina.

Making a scene in public was usually not his thing, but right then he could not hold back his rage. She damn well deserved a scene in front of the whole town for keeping him away from his daughter all these years. Heaven knows how Emma had to grow up, thinking her parents didn't want her. But it was not her parents that had decided, it was just only her mother.

Regina looked up in worry as David approached their booth, but he didn't pay her any attention. Instead, he turned to the other woman with the pixie cut and emerald green eyes. The same eyes as his daughter's.

"David, what…" Mary Margaret started, but he didn't let her speak.

"How could you? How could you not tell me, Mary Margaret? All these years, you have been smiling to my face and keeping this huge secret from me!" He shouted at her, not caring that everyone in the diner was staring at him.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in confusion. How the hell could she be confused, he thought. She knew about Emma!

"About our daughter. In over two decades you didn't find the nerve to tell me? I never thought you would be so heartless."

Panic flashed in her eyes as her darkest secret was revealed.

"But your heartlessness started right when you didn't tell me you were pregnant. And when you decided to give Emma away without even telling me. I could have raised her myself! We could have raised her together, if you had wanted! But you ruined all of our lives without even caring. I have no idea who the woman I was once was in love with. " He went on.

Mary Margaret was now crying, not able to respond anything.

"David, stop! It's not how you think it was. Mary Margaret had no choice. She didn't want to." Regina tried to step in for her sister, whom she was embracing and shielding from the curious glances from all over the diner.

A new wave of rage overtook him as he realized that not only his first love had betrayed him, but his best friend's wife had also lied to his face for years. Who else knew about this?

But before he could continue, he heard a weak "David?" from behind him. He turned to see his daughter and her friend standing in the diner. He had wanted to release his anger here and not have his child think badly of him. Now she would certainly hate him and he couldn't live with that.

He stepped towards her, his rage dissipated.

"Emma, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to see this."

Before Emma could return something, he saw from the corner of his eye that Mary Margaret had gotten up.

"Emma? This is Emma? Our daughter?" Mary Margaret asked, not taking her still crying eyes off of Emma.

No way was she getting to be motherly now. He would protect his child, if it was the last thing he did. This woman wouldn't get to break Emma's heart like she had broken his all those years ago (and again today).

But Emma didn't seem to need any protection from David. She reached out for his shoulder and softly pulled him away. "Come on, David, she is not worth it. " She said with a hateful look towards Mary Margaret.

The heart broken look on Mary Margaret's face did give him a little satisfaction. Another side of him wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but this side (normally the stronger one) was not going to win today.

Then, all he wanted to focus on was leading his daughter out of the diner and try to catch up with everything that he had missed in her life that she thought was worth telling.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey everyone, so there have been some comments, that it was not okay Mary Margaret was the bad guy and David was flawless and that I should make him the bad guy._

 _I can assure you that David is not a bad guy, but not flawless either. He agreed to a loveless marriage, because he couldn't have the woman he wanted and because he couldn't stand up against his father (more in chapter 6 and 7)._

 _And that Mary Margaret is the bad guy and gave up Emma for no good reasons, is only your assumption. We will will get to Mary Margaret's reasons in chapter 7, which will mainly focus on her. But you find some hints along the way._

 _For Emma, I think she is a person, who doesn't forgive that easy and in this story, she already has a mom and she feels like she is going to betray her. And she is still mad at Mary Margaret for keeping this secret from David, just like David is. And no matter what you think of adoption, if someone kept a hugh secret from you for all those years, I think you are allowed to be mad at that person. But that doesn't mean you won't hear them out eventually and, again, it doesn't mean that person didn't have a very good reason to do so._

 _Just let the story play out and don't make fast assumptions because I love letting things appear completly different when they trully turn out to be._

 _But I hope you still like this story. There is still a lot of it to be told :) And now, enjoy!_

 _..._

 **Chapter 5**

A daughter. He did really have a daughter, David thought as he sat on the couch in his living room.

It was such an absurd thought. A grown woman in her mid-twenties, that was his daughter. He didn't know anything about her, not even her exact age. He would have to ask her later, when they met at Granny's.

But then it hit him. Twenty-four. That's how old she must be.

It was almost twenty-five years ago that the love of his life had gone away. David and Mary Margaret had been together since they were twelve. It was true love, no one understood. She was his Snow White and he was her Prince Charming. Everything had been perfect and he had believed they would go to college together, get married after and stay together forever.

But one day, Mary Margaret had just left. Not only left him, but left town without a word. She only came back for their senior year in high school. David tried to talk to her, get her back, but every time she saw him she just cried and ran away.

He had thought it was just because of her father's passing, so he had given her time to heal and left her in peace. After they both came back from college, he tried again. But then she told him that she just never could be with him. He had never understood why, but now he did. She couldn't be with a man whose child she had given away without telling him of its existence.

How could she do that? Sure, they were still teenagers at that time and her father was very sick. But somehow, maybe they could have made it work… But now, he would never know.

David instantly got angry with himself at that thought. How could he be sorry about of having a life with her and raising their daughter together after she had lied for way over twenty years and after she gave Emma away?

Emma. He had so much catching up to do with her. He didn't know where to start. And he certainly didn't know how to do this. Surely, he had always longed to have children, but Emma was grown up. She was no baby he could soothe. No toddler he could read bed time stories to. He had missed it all.

David was so caught up in thoughts about his daughter and her mother that he didn't notice that his wife had come home.

Kathryn was greeted by their dog as she came into the living room. She looked exhausted.

"Oh David, your father is such a perfectionist. There was one memo, I had to rewrite it four times before he was pleased with it. No wait, not pleased. He is never pleased. Let's say, until he was not disappointed anymore. Though, of course, every day I'm not pregnant with a grandson for him disappoints him. I really don't understand him. I'm sure your brother has a kid in every single city he ever visited." Kathryn chattered as she sat down next to him on the couch, trying to relax.

His wife worked at his father's law firm as a secretary. And she was not treated well by her boss. She had to work overtime almost every day and was also called in on weekends very often, like today.

"How was your day, honey?" She asked him calmly, while gently patting his knee to get his attention.

David took a deep breath. How the hell was he going to tell her this? He had come home to tell her in peace, but of course all he had thought about was Emma. And Mary Margaret.

He turned to Kathryn and looked deep into her eyes. He saw the confused look turn into a scared look.

"Today, I found out I have a daughter with Mary Margaret." He said, trying to sound calm.

Before he could go on, Kathryn withdrew her hand from him as if he had burnt her. "You cheated on me?"

"What? No! Of course not! You see, Emma, that's my daughter's name. Emma showed up here looking for me and telling me I was her father. She is in her twenties. Mary Margaret must have been pregnant while she and I dated. That's why she broke up with me. She went away to give birth to Emma and then gave her up for adoption." He explained.

Kathryn had moved away from David as far as the couch allowed it. After his explanation, she looked less betrayed, but still hurt.

"And what are you going to do now?" Kathryn asked in a trembling voice.

"Well, I will meet her later and catch up with her. There is so much I don't know. I missed out on everything and I have to make up for it. I am her father. I will never leave her again, if she lets me have a place in her life."

An uncomfortable silence lay between them for a while as David waited for a reaction. Then suddenly Kathryn jumped up and paced the room.

"I need some time, David. This is just too much. Maybe it's right to stand by your daughter, but… I can't…and Mary Margaret. She has always been like…a ghost haunting our lives. I know we didn't marry because we madly loved each other, but... you mean… No, this is just too much!" She got the dog and grabbed her coat.

"I think I'll visit my father in New York for some time. I just need space right now. To think about… everything."

She waited for David to stop her, but he didn't. "I think that is a good idea. I understand that this is a lot for you. It is for me, too, believe me. But my daughter needs me now, so I must stay here with her. I hope you understand. And I hope you know that I never ever wanted to hurt you. I had no clue about it; please don't think I had been lying to you."

….

Later that day, David and Emma sat together at Granny's awkwardly avoiding each other's stare. Killian had excused himself to give the two of them space, but they were both not so happy about the missing buffer. They both didn't really know what to say or how to start this. And the curious stares from the people around them didn't really help.

"So.", David gathered his courage to start. "Tell me about yourself."

Emma let out a nervously laugh. "Well, I'm not sure where to start."

Asking for when his own daughter was born seemed a little bit too sad, so he tried to start with something easier. "Then, tell me how you and Killian met."

A blush crept over Emma's face. Should the first thing her father learned about her that she had met her boyfriend while he was pregnant with his best friend's child with whom she had only had sex once?

"You know, why don't we start at the beginning? Ehm, let' see. I'm 24. My birthday is 22nd of October. I was born in Boston. When I was little I had a heart condition and needed many surgeries."

David's eyes widened at this casual revelation. Emma could have died as a child and he would have never even known she existed.

"I'm fine now, though." Emma quickly added as she saw his worried expression. "I was put in the foster system and I met my best friend Lily there. Everyone had told me that I would most likely spend the rest of my life in the system, but when I was seven, I was placed at Ingrid's."

Emma smiled warmly as she thought back how she had first met her mother. She was just a shy and frightened little child. Her social worker had introduced them and had immediately hit it off . Ingrid had been living in a big house. Little Emma had looked around it in terror, at all the things she could accidently break and get screamed at for it.

But this blond woman had reached out her hand for her and told her that there was no reason for her to be afraid. Little Emma had taken her hand, not because she trusted the woman, but because she knew she was in trouble if she didn't do as she was told.

Ingrid had led her into her living room, a big and bright room. In there, Emma was greeted by the little four year old Anna, who had pulled her to the living room floor to play with her and her nine year old sister Elsa. Elsa and Anna were Ingrid's nieces who had been living with their parents, Ingrid's younger sister and her husband, in the house next door.

Over the years, Anna and Elsa had become more Emma's sisters than her cousins.

Emma had gotten really comfortable at Ingrid's and began to hope that this was her home forever, when suddenly Ingrid's sister and her husband died in a horrible car accident. She would never forget how Ingrid had picked up the phone that night and broke down crying.

As Ingrid's other sister had died long ago and there had been no other relatives to take care of the two poor orphaned girls, it was without question that she would take Anna and Elsa in.

"I was happy that the two of them had a home, but I was absolutely certain that she couldn't take care of three little kids. They were her relatives and I was only…" She explained with tears in her eyes.

David wanted to reach out and take her hand or take her in his arms, but he knew that it wouldn't make the pain of those memories go away.

"So the night that they had been settled in in the guest room, I went to my room and packed my things. Ingrid came by and was confused. She asked me what I was doing and I told her I had to get my things together so that she could have space for Anna and Elsa and that she couldn't be my mommy anymore. She had tears in her eyes and left the room. I thought it meant that I was right, but she returned to my room with papers in her hand. She had smiled at me and told me they were my adoption papers. She took a pen from my desk and signed them. Then she had wrapped her arms around me and said that she was now my mommy for the rest of the time. That she, Elsa, Anna and I would be a happy family. And we were. We still are."

Emma wiped away her tears in shame. After all these years, the love Ingrid, her mother, had showed her still overwhelmed her. David seemed really touched, too, as he was also blinking away tears. Though perhaps, they were not for the same reason as hers.

"Your mother sounds like an extraordinary woman. I would be happy to meet her one day, if you don't mind. And your…Anna and Elsa, too." He had no clue what they were to her, but that was okay.

"Sure. Anna is a bit much, but her husband Kristoff really calmed her down a bit. Elsa is married, too. In fact, her husband is Killian's older brother Liam. And my mom, well she is happy being single. She has an ice cream parlor. It is really good. In a city like Boston, it's hard with all the competition. I always tell her she should relocate it to a smaller town and she would make a fortune. But she is doing alright. Elsa works there with her. And the whole family is always their test jury. Killian always says he's surprised his brother fits through a door with all the ice cream Elsa is feeding him."

Emma laughed at the thought of the Jones brothers' banter. But then she remembered that David probably didn't care about that.

"Sorry, David. This is surely not something you are interested in." Her shameful look was directed at the burger the waitress had put in front of her.

"No! Emma, this is your life and your family. I am very interested in all of it." David assured her with a smile.

Emma relaxed a bit and turned her attention to her onion rings. "Well, then tell me about your family."

She was really curious if he was married and had more children, but she didn't want to ask directly.

"Well, I have a twin brother, who travels around the world to do, well... I have no idea. I have a controlling father, George, who is a lawyer. And my mother Ruth, she was an amazing woman. She died some years ago. She would have loved you so much." David explained.

Now Emma got a bit nervous. "Don't you think she would have been a bit surprised to suddenly find out she was a grandparent?"

David immediately shook his head. "No. She would have been so delighted. Even though we missed out so much of your life, she would have been so happy. Just like I am. I know I can never make up for the lost time. I can never teach you how to ride a bike or how to drive a car, but I want you to know that from now on I will be always there for you. In whichever way you let me." He slowly reached out for her hand, to give her a chance to draw it back, but instead she met him halfway and took his hand.

Her other hand reached out for her phone and she began to search for something. "Well, you may have missed out with me, but there is someone you still have time to do all these things with."

She gave him her phone in the hand she was not holding and motioned for him to look at it.

On its screen, there was a picture of a little dark haired boy smiling for the camera.

"This is Henry. My son." Emma admitted in an uncertain voice.

David let go of her hand to examine the picture. His eyes were wide in shock and his mouth stood open. "I'm a grandfather? Seriously? Yesterday, I had no kids at all and today I have a grandson." He mumbled to himself.

David gave the phone back and they ate in silence.

After a while, Emma couldn't take it anymore. "He is four and he is just the sweetest child on earth. As long as he isn't plotting something." She chuckled. "Are you mad? Or disappointed?"

David felt bad about the nervous tone in Emma's voice and the concern on her face. "No, Emma. I'm just… this is just a bit much to take in all at once. But of course I am not mad or disappointed. You had him when you were like twenty. I got Mary Margaret pregnant when we were 16. It's not my place to judge." Emma's relieved expression was all the assurance he needed. "And I must say, he really looks like Killian."

Emma had just been drinking her cocoa as he spoke, so she had to do her best not to spit the cocoa out from the laughter. She coughed it away and assured the worried David everything was fine. Everyone who saw Killian and Henry together thought they were father and son. And of course, in some sense they were. In every sense that mattered. Just not in the matter of inheriting looks.

"Actually, Killian and I met when I was already pregnant with Henry. Henry is with his father right now. We all work as a team together in raising Henry." She really didn't want to go on with this part of her family, so she tried to change the subject back to what she wanted to know.

"What about you? Do you have… children or a…partner?" Emma wasn't sure if since dating her birthmother, David's interests had changed and she didn't want to hurt his feelings or insult him.

"No children, except for you. That is, if Mary Margaret didn't give away more children. I have been married to Kathryn for some years now. We were trying to have children, but it was not meant to be. I told her about you earlier, when I was at home."

"How did she take it?"

"Surprisingly good. She didn't throw anything at me, like I had expected. Just kidding. She is a really gentle and understanding woman. We got married because our fathers wanted the union, but we really care about each other. She is visiting her father now to think about everything. But don't worry about it, she'll come around." David took Emma's hand again, more natural as before.

"If you say so. Well, come on. Let's meet Killian and you can show us around town. I didn't come here to just see Granny's." Emma joked.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello everyone, who is still reading this. This chapter has a lot anger in it, and we get to the hints of why MM gave Emma away (there were not really any before now, even if some believe it).**_

 _ **The heartcondition thing in the last chapter was actually inspired by the tv show "Life Unexpected", which inspired this whole story. And in that story, the mother gave her daughter up for adoption and didn't know about her daughters heart condition.**_

 _ **In this chapter we also meet Elsa, with a bit of indirect Frozen Jewel, and we get more of the Jones Brothers.**_

 _ **Enjoy! (And don't get mad at David, he is going through alot ;) )**_

 _ **...**_

 **Chapter 6**

Sunday afternoon, Killian and Emma arrived back home in Boston. They were immediately greeted by Neal and Henry.

"Can I meet my grandpa now?", Henry asked in joy as he threw himself into Emma's arms.

Emma chuckled. "Ehm, well, it actually went kind of well with David, so maybe the next time we visit him you can come along. I'm sure he will love to meet you. He saw a picture of you and he just knew you were the cutest and smartest little boy in the world."

Emma carried her son into the living room and started to tell him about meeting David. Henry wanted to know everything about his grandfather as he in fact didn't have one before. So this was a new adventure for the little boy. And Emma was more than willing to share the new information, not only because she could hardly deny her son anything, but because she was just happy at the moment that she had a father who liked her and wanted to know her.

Neal, on the other hand, gave Killian a serious look. "How did it go?", he asked.

Killian put away the bags and then turned back to his friend. "Good, actually. He seemed to really not know anything about Emma. He was really surprised. But also happy and welcoming. It was a bit awkward, but they worked through it. I think it will get better every time they see each other."

"What about her mother?", Neal asked in a serious tone.

Killian sighed deeply exhausted. "Well, we saw her, too. Her name is Mary Margaret. But…" He paused. "Emma didn't want to have anything to do with her. And David seemed to feel the same way. It appears they broke up back when she was pregnant with Emma. So it is really complicated. But I can't help but wonder what her side of the story is. As I understood, she was only 16 or 17 when she had Emma, so maybe she didn't really have a choice. I don't know. I would feel much better if I knew."

"Well, then maybe we should find out the next time we go there.", Neal suggested.

But Killian shook his head. "You know Emma would kill us, if she found out. No, I think we should give Emma some time. Maybe she will want to talk to Mary Margaret eventually. But if not, it is her choice. We both might just want to protect her, but it is not our place to interfere. For now, we should just leave her in the bliss that her father now knows her and cares for her and wants to be in her life. Let her have the happiness she was denied to enjoy for far too long."

…

David was working on Monday when his best friend Robin came into the sheriff station. He hadn't seen anyone since he said goodbye to Emma. David was really unsure about Robin right now.

Robin and David were the best of friends since high school and shared almost everything with each other. But Robin was not only David's best friend, but also the husband of Mary Margaret's stepsister Regina. And Regina had seemed to know about Emma. So David wondered if his friend had known, too.

So his look towards Robin wasn't as friendly as it usually was. But Robin's expression wasn't as cheery as it usually was, either.

Robin came bearing a take-out bag from Granny's and set it down in front of David. "Cheeseburger with fries, just the way you like it.", he said trying to get into a light tone, but failing.

"Come on, Robin. If you have something on your mind, just spit it out. That's what friends are for, right?"

The tension between them overtook and Robin let it out. "Mate, I understand that the situation with you and Mary Margaret is really complicated and I have no idea how you must be feeling right now, but I don't think it was really necessary to make a scene in front of the whole town in the middle of Granny's. Whatever she did, she didn't deserve that. I'm sure you could have settled it with her in private."

"I could have settled it in private? I didn't want to settle it in private! This woman has lied to me for 25 years. 25 years, Robin! And I didn't find out about my daughter because she suddenly had the decency to tell me, but because Emma found me and wanted to give me a chance to get to know her. She had denied me my daughter! Can you understand that? Can you imagine how I feel? I just found out I had a daughter. A daughter with the love of my life, who didn't even bother to tell me. Really, I'm not mostly mad that she gave her up for adoption. I have no idea, why she did that. But she had no right to never tell me about my child.", David shouted, losing his temper and letting the anger and disappointment that had accumulated over the last days.

"No, she just left me and gave Emma away and never said a word about her. I mean, did she even care about Emma? Did she even think about her? How could she talk to me all those years and not think about her, not think that I'd want to know about my daughter? What kind of person is she? What kind of person does she think I am?"

Robin had let David get his anger out, as he knew that's what his friend needed right now, but he thought it was time to stop him then. "Woah, woah, calm down. This is really hard for her. Regina said it had been really hurting Mary Margaret for all those years. It seems she hadn't been very willing to do any of it."

"Right at this moment, I don't care if she was willing to give up her own child or not. I am incredibly mad at her for not giving me a chance to get to know my daughter. To make the choice if I wanted to raise my daughter myself. If she didn't want to raise Emma, okay, I get it. We were just teenagers back then. Whatever, it is her own choice." David ran his hands through his hair in anger, not knowing how he could explain how deeply wounded he was. He continued with a gentler voice.

"We could have been…a family. Emma and me, I mean. My mom surely would have helped me. But I was robbed this decision. Mary Margaret can be lucky Emma had a good life with her mother. Her real mother. But that doesn't make me feel much better. I'm just heartbroken that I missed out on my child growing up. And that is all because of Mary Margaret. Because she made a choice to exclude me from Emma's life. To withhold the information that she even existed. And I'm not sure if I can ever forgive her that." David looked down to his desk to avoid his friend's stare. The anger was now beginning to transform into sadness.

Robin sat down next to his friend and laid a hand on David's shoulder to comfort him.

"If you ask me, your anger towards Mary Margaret is not so much about the fact that she didn't let you know you had a child with her. It's because she didn't give you a chance to have a life with her."

David moved away from his friend. "Don't you dare tell me how I feel. I am very angry at her right now, you can't imagine how much. And I am not convinced you knew nothing about it." Bitterness pouring his words.

Robin looked at his friend of so many years in shock. "You really think I knew all that time and didn't tell you? I had no idea! I just learned when Regina came home with a crying Mary Margaret and told me what had happened and how you had behaved. I know Mary Margaret for just as long as I know you and she is a good person. If she did this, I'm sure she had her reasons. I can understand that it's hard to swallow, but if your nerves have calmed down you can give Mary Margaret a chance to explain her reasons."

"What reasons could there possibly be for keeping this from me all those years?" David shot back.

"Seriously, don't you know who their mother is? Or rather who Mary Margaret's step mother is. I'm sure that manipulative woman had her hands in this."

"She is a grown up. She shouldn't be under her control." David retorted, not sure if he should believe that Mary Margaret's stepmother Cora could get her to do as she pleased in this matter for so long.

"Yes, I agree with you. She shouldn't. And Regina and Zelena shouldn't. But they still are all under her control, because this woman just has a way into their heads and a power over them I will never understand. So, maybe cool off a bit, enjoy time with your daughter and then maybe give Mary Margaret a chance to explain. I don't mean it for you to forgive her, but it could bring both of you some peace. Her to finally tell you everything and you to finally know it. Just think about it."

Without another word, Robin left the station with a gentle smile to his friend.

David knew that he was not fair to his friend, taking out his anger on him who had nothing to do with it, and that it was Robin's job as Mary Margaret's brother-in-law to take her side, too. And Robin might have a point. Cora Mills-Blanchard was a very controlling mother and head of the family. Maybe she had something to do with it.

But right then, David didn't want to give it a thought and believed it was his right to be mad at Mary Margaret. It didn't mean he would be forever.

How could you be mad forever at the woman you loved with all your heart for all these years? Even the anger at this situation couldn't shake that feeling away entirely.

…

On Tuesday evening, Emma and Elsa were sitting in Elsa and Liam's kitchen. Emma and Killian often visited them, but this Tuesday dinner was like a tradition for them. The brothers would usually take off for the living room and watch some sport game or action movie and Emma and Elsa would sit in the kitchen and catch up with each other over a glass of wine.

Emma was pouring her heart out over finally meeting David and how she felt guilty about not telling Ingrid about it.

"Wow, I can really understand the situation you are in. Liam couldn't understand, why you didn't tell Ingrid, but I can totally see it. She would never let you do this. She would be so mad. But, Emma, she will find out eventually. You have to know that." Elsa said with a sympathizing look after Emma finished her story.

"Yes, I know. But I don't intend to keep this from her forever, you know. I would never do this. She is my mother and I love her. But now, I have found my father. It's… hard to describe. I am so happy and I feel more complete now. There are so many things I want to learn about him, about myself. And there are so many things I want to tell him about myself. I want him to meet Henry. And get him to know Killian. And you guys, of course. I want him to be a part of my life. I want him to find a place in my life, in my family and stay there. And until that has happened, I am not comfortable with telling mom, because she will surely do her best to scare him away and make sure he doesn't want to find a place into my life. And I know she wouldn't do that because she wants to hurt me, but she would be afraid to lose me. She'd think he would be taking her place as my parent. Which he would never. But I'm sure it would be hard for her."

Elsa nodded in agreement, understanding Ingrid's protectiveness after knowing her aunt all her life.

"And what about your birthmother?" Elsa asked curiously.

Emma just frowned. "Mhm, I saw that woman. What kind of woman doesn't tell the man she was with and who she claimed to love that she was having his baby and giving it away? What kind of person is she? I'm not sure she is worth getting to know."

"Well, for now you can focus on getting to know David. ", Elsa said calmly, not wanting to get Emma mad at her.

Emma smiled at Elsa. "Yeah, sure. Now, let's get a glass of wine and then you can tell me everything about your week.

Elsa's smile was radiant. "Well, you can enjoy the wine, because I can't.", Elsa declared with joy.

Emma looked at her in surprise and amazement. "Elsa, oh my god. You're going to have a baby? I'm so happy for you." She drew her cousin in for a joyous hug.

Elsa chuckled at Emma's affection. "That's right. You are going to be an aunt. Isn't that amazing?"

"Well, aunt? Not really, right?", Emma said a bit embarrassed.

"You are like my sister, but that is not what I was referring to. You and Killian have been together for over four years. Isn't it kind of time for the next step?", Elsa explained.

A gentle bush crept over Emma's face at this. "Well, I have no idea, but knowing Killian being the traditional type, I guess the ball is kind of his to play."

"Yeah, these Jones men." Both women chuckled and than Emma urged Elsa to tell her everything about her pregnancy.

…

In the other room, Liam and Killian had long talked about the happy news.

Liam sighed in contentment. "Yes, a new addition to the Jones family. Speaking of, what about your plans?"

Killian shot a nervous look at the door. "Are you insane? We can't talk about this here."

"Don't worry, I didn't tell my wife. She can't keep a secret from Anna, and Anna can't keep a secret from anyone. So I thought it would be best. And I didn't think I would have to keep this for so long. What are you waiting for?"

Killian sighed. He had already had this conversation with Neal too many times. "Now is really not the best moment to pop this question to Emma. Believe me, she has a lot on her mind right now."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Emma always has a lot on her mind. Little brother, a bit of advice. Live the moment, don't let it pass. Because if you miss it, you'll regret it forever."

But Killian just shook his head. "No, now is not the right time. When everything has settled, then I will do it. But not right now. This is too much for Emma. And I want nothing more than for her to be happy. Even if it means I have to wait a few more months to finally ask that question that I have been dying to ask her since the moment I met her."

 _ **...**_

 _ **So, yeah, David is pretty mad, but he will calm down eventually. But I think it wouldn't be believeable if he wasn't. I would be in his situation.**_

 _ **In the next chapter, we will finally hear Mary Margaret's story and find out why she did what she did. (And we'll meet Zelena).**_

 _ **We will also see how David's not so dear dad will react to the news of David getting to know Emma.**_

 _ **And David and Mary Margaret will have a short talk for the first time.**_

 _ **So stay tuned, the chapter is already waiting to be posted and won't have to wait long ;)**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

David had just gotten home on Thursday afternoon, when he heard a stern knock on his door. He wondered if it was someone else trying to get him to talk to Mary Margaret. Over the week, not only Robin had tried to calm his anger towards her, but also Ruby, Ashley and Aurora, Mary Margret's friends. But her sisters had been the worst.

So he was ready to knock down Regina's third attempt for the day, when he opened the door to find the grim face of his father in front of him. He sighed inwardly, not in the mood for the lecture his father would surely be giving him.

"Father, why don't you…" But before David could finish his invitation to come in, his father was already shoving him aside and making his way into the house.

He waited for David to close the door, before he turned towards his son and began. "Have you lost your mind? Wandering around town, showing off your illegitimate child? You seriously bring nothing but shame to the family. Tell me this is the last time your bastard came to town."

Usually, David didn't bother to talk back to his father, knowing it would not get him anywhere, but the arrival of Emma had awakened his fatherly instincts, which were even stronger than the urge to defend the other people he cared about.

"Be careful, this is my daughter you are talking about. Your granddaughter. Of course I will see her again and she will come to this town again. I am not ashamed of her or the fact I was a teenager when she was born or the fact that Mary Margaret and I are neither married nor together. She is my child. I might not have known her for long, but she is already deep in my heart." David explained in a gentle, but determined tone.

George looked at his son in disbelief and anger, not used to people talking back to him.

"Don't you think about your family? Your wife is in another city, because she couldn't stand to be near you. Do you have any idea how bad this appears for all of us? Not to mention all the gossip in this town."

Now David looked at his father in disbelief. "Emma is my family. And of course I thought of my wife. But I just called her yesterday and she told me she needs more time to think, but also encouraged me to see Emma again. Because she thinks family is the most important thing. And I tell you, right here and right now, nothing you will say will ever keep me from seeing Emma again. And if you think like that, don't go anywhere near my daughter."

George only sneered at that. "Don't worry, I have no intention to go anywhere near your child or the whore that is her mother."

David had been very angry over the last days, but not as angry as in this moment. It took all his willpower and the memory of his beloved mother to not punch his father, and to go to the door to get him to leave. "Get out! And don't you dare calling her that ever again!"

…

Mary Margaret wiped away her tears as she entered her sister's house. She was greeted by her young nephew Roland, who euphorically told her that he had felt his little brother kick inside of his mother's belly. It took all her strength to smile at the little boy.

Robin came to her aid and lured his son away with the promise to play with his new toy bow, so Mary Margaret had space to go talk to her sisters.

Regina and Zelena were already waiting for her in the sitting room on the second floor. Zelena greeted her by shoving a very full glass of red wine into her hand and dragging her to sit down in the armchair across from Regina as she reached for her own glass.

Regina gave her sister a caring smile, seeing the dried tears on her face. "How was your week, honey?"

Mary Margaret sobbed desperately. It was a week ago now, that people had first learned that she had had a daughter with David when she had been a teenager and had given said daughter away.

Some people, like her friends, or her father's old friend, Marco, were very understanding and told her she should just talk to David and that he would eventually understand.

But most people were not so understanding. Some insulted her, some ignored her completely and, worst, some spread horrible rumors about her. There were the ones saying that she wasn't even sure David was the father as she had fooled around with too many men, others said that she had been having a secret affair with David for many years up until now.

She only hoped David's wife Kathryn wouldn't hear and mostly believe these rumors. Kathryn was such a nice woman and the last thing she wanted to do, was hurt anyone. That's why she had kept all this secret in the first place.

What really broke her, though, was the memory of her daughter looking at her with hatred in her eyes and telling David that Mary Margaret was not worth anything.

"I'm not sure what to do. Maybe I should just leave town.", she mumbled in a broken voice. But both her sister protested immediately.

"MM, why don't you let things settle for some time. Soon enough there will be another little scandal. There always is in a small town like ours. Don't take it personal, the people just love to gossip.", Zelena suggested.

"Even so, David will hate me forever. And I deserve it." Mary Margaret kept on crying.

Regina moved over to her and embraced her, as good as she could with her pregnancy belly. "No, you don't."

Mary Margaret believed in Regina's reassuring gaze, but then she could see a flick of something on Zelena's face.

"But you believe I deserve it, right Zelena?"

Zelena let out a conflicted sigh. "Well, you did nothing wrong in giving your baby up for adoption, but like I told you all these years ago, you should have told David."

Mary Margaret protested. "He wouldn't have understood."

"Yes, but you should have told him anyway. And yes, I know it was hard for you, harder than I can ever imagine, but you should have told him. Maybe not right away, but when you knew she had been adopted, you should have told him. I know why you did what you did, but I can understand that he is mad at you. But knowing David, it won't last for too long, anyway. That man can be mad at you, but he could never truly hate you." Zelena justified herself.

Regina gave her older sister a look, trying to signal that this was really not the right time to criticize their sister as she needed support and comfort right now.

But Mary Margaret knew that Zelena didn't want to hurt her with her words. They were sisters and loved each other.

When Mary Margaret had lost her mother, she had been very young. To her displeasure, it hadn't taken her father long to find another wife. The woman, Cora, seemed nice at first and she knew her father only wanted for her to have a mother, but she knew that she could never look at Cora that way. She was too cold and controlling. But she was her stepmother, so she had to obey.

But the moment she met Regina, who was about Mary Margaret's age, and Zelena, who was two years older, she considered them her sisters. They were a bit harsh and sassy and mean at times, but not to the people they cared about. Those people were protected by them with everything they had.

The two had always been there for Mary Margaret. Zelena had even driven to another town to buy a pregnancy test, 25 years ago. Mary Margaret had been so afraid, when she noticed she had missed her period. Regina had urged her to go to a doctor, but she didn't want to get into trouble with Cora if there was nothing. Buying a pregnancy test in this small town where everyone knew her father and stepmother, not mention David's parents, so Zelena as the eldest, who owned a car, had driven over an hour to buy a pregnancy test.

And her sisters had been with her, when she had told Cora. Her stepmother had been furious and tried to talk her into having an abortion, but Mary Margaret couldn't even bring herself to think of doing that.

But it was obvious that Cora wouldn't allow her to keep the baby. Her father was very sick at that time and barely alive, so he couldn't help her. And even if Mary Margaret could never get herself to say it out loud, she had known back then that her father wouldn't be alive for much longer. And he hadn't been.

Mary Margaret had argued with Cora that she and David could make it work somehow. That surely David's parents would support them, too. But Cora had only laughed at that and asked her if she really believed that George Nolan would seriously let his son have a child with some girl while still a teenager. She had told Mary Margaret that George had already planned David's life out and if she raised the child with him it would mean out casting David from his family.

Cora said they would be poor and have nothing, no proper education, no good jobs. Did she really want that for David? And her child?

 _"You should tell the poor boy. He would only do what he thinks is the honorable thing to do and you would ruin his life with it. And your father, you better not tell him either. I'm not sure if his poor heart could take being so disappointed in his only child. It would devastate him, and his last memory would be of you being bad. I could never do this to him. And your child will have a good life without you. There are waiting lists from here to Granny's of people who want to adopt babies. It will find a good home. But with you? You can't finish school, not go to college. And I won't be able to support you and the child. So you have to make a smart decision."_

The speech Cora had given her that day was branded into her brain. And she would never forget the worry for her child and David to have a good live, for her father not to think bad of her when his time came. But most importantly, the fear of her stepmother kicking her out the moment her father died. She had no other relatives, no one to support her. So doing what she had done, was her only choice and what she thought was best for all of them.

But to this day she hoped she had listened to her sisters who had advised her to tell David first about the baby. Heaven knows, how things would have turned out, if she had not insisted on telling her stepmother first.

Mary Margaret sighed deeply. "You're right. I should have told him."

…

Later that day, Mary Margaret was strolling around the supermarket, trying not to notice the whispers around her. She just wanted to get out of there as fast as she could, away from those despising glances.

Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice where she was going, when she suddenly bumped into someone equally lost in his thoughts.

David.

For a moment he gave her a confused look, but as he realized it was her he pulled away.

Her eyes widened and she wanted to use the chance that she was given.

"David, listen, I am so sorry. And I know you have good reasons to be mad at me, but please let me explain. I had no choice but to give her away." Mary Margaret spoke to him in a pleading voice, yet so low she hoped no one would overhear their conversation.

"What reason? I hope it was not because she had a heart condition." David responded.

Mary Margaret was confused. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

David gave her a questioning look. "Emma had a serious heart condition as a child. She had many surgeries. That's why she was just adopted only when she was seven. Or rather, why she was placed in her final home when she was seven. I think the adoption took a bit more time."

"What? Oh my god!" Why hadn't anyone told her that her child was sick? Did they not know it? Did they want to spare her feelings? Had her stepmother made sure she didn't know? Her baby girl could have died! And she would have never known. A million thoughts ran through her head that moment.

Then she remembered David's presence. "David, I swear I didn't know. You have to believe me. I would have never given her away if I had known. They had told me that she would be adopted immediately and that there was already a family waiting for her. I just did it because I thought she would have a good and happy life." Tears streamed down her face, but she couldn't bring herself to care about the people staring at them.

The sad expression in his blue eyes broke her heart a million times over. "But that's the problem, Mary Margaret. I don't know that I can believe you anymore. It's like everything you ever told me is a lie."

With that he turned around and began to walk away.

But there was something Mary Margaret needed to know more than anything in the world right now. "But Emma's heart is alright, right now, right? She is not sick anymore?"

David stood still, obviously arguing with himself if he should answer her question.

Finally, he turned around, his eyes a bit gentler. "Yes, she is alright. Her heart is fine."

Mary Margaret felt like a weight was lifted from her. Obviously, David noticed that. "I am so incredibly mad at you. You have kept this from me for so many years and I am still trying to wrap my mind around this."

She opened her mouth to apologize again, but he motioned her not to, so she remained silent as he went on.

"So many years you kept this from me. So I think I have a right to be mad at you for longer than a week. I will give you a chance to explain when I'm ready, but that will take a while. Until then, I would be glad if you left me alone. And Emma. Her feelings are quite similar to mine. And I don't think your chances with her are as good as with me. To her, you are just the woman who gave her up. But to me, you are the woman I loved with all my heart."

Mary Margaret was speechless as he left after that. And her heart was racing like a car on the speedway.

…

"What a week.", David complained later as he sat in the Rabbit Hole, the bar his friends Will Scarlet and Robin owned.

"You can say that again, mate. I wouldn't trade with you for the world. All the gossip.", Will agreed with him as he filled beer for other customers.

David sighed. "I hope Emma doesn't hear any of it. She is coming over later to stay the weekend. And as she is staying at Granny's, you can't avoid hearing people talk."

"I'm sure she will be fine." Robin assured him, as he sat down next to David. He and David were good with each other once more, after agreeing to not talk about it this intensely again.

"But the worst of the week was my father intruding and telling me I shouldn't see Emma again. Why can't he understand I am her father and how much that means?", David kept on complaining.

Will chuckled in amusement. "Knowing your old dad, he surely first insisted to get a paternity test.", Will joked.

David thought about his friend's comment and got suspicious. "He didn't.", David whispered more to himself then to his friends. "He didn't even imply Emma may not be mine. That's strange. When a woman claimed to be pregnant from my brother, he made her do such a test and I'm sure he manipulated the result so it was negative. But he didn't do that now."

He eyed his friends in despair. "Do you think he knew about Emma?"

Robin patted David's shoulder and gave him a thoughtful look. "I have no idea, Dave. But I know one thing about your father. If he really knew, he will surely never admit it."

…

Emma had just gotten to Granny's and wanted to settle her things in her room before she went to meet her father, when she heard a knock on her door.

Emma was a bit confused as she had told David she would meet him at the bar Rabbit Hole to meet his friends. But she guessed, he just wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

The smile meant for David vanished from her face, when she opened the door and saw a brunette woman standing in front of her. After a moment she remembered that this was the woman, who had sat with Mary Margaret when she had seen her at Granny's last week.

"Hello Emma. I know you don't know me, but I wanted to talk to you. I'm Regina. Mary Margaret's sister.", Regina started.

The response to this was an icy glare. "Let me guess, you want me to talk to her and explain everything. But I have no interest in that. There can be no good reason for giving me away and keeping me a secret from David all those years."

"There is, but it's not my place to tell you. But she was just a teenager then and had no choice." Regina tried to defend her sister, but had a feeling she wouldn't succeed to convince Emma her birthmother was not a bad person.

That made Emma angrier. "Really? Well, let me tell you something, lady, I was adopted when I was seven. So she had plenty of time to change her mind and get me back. But she didn't. All those years she had no desire to see me. Why now?" Emma was about to shut the door in front of Regina's face, but Regina went on.

"She did."

Emma shot Regina a suspicious look. "Right. You seriously want me to believe that?"

"If you don't believe me, you should ask your mother. Your adoptive mother." With that Regina left a very confused Emma.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"You have been so quiet tonight. Is everything alright?", David asked Emma in his newfound fatherly concern. They were both sitting together at a table at the Rabbit Hole, each with a bottle of beer in front of them.

David had introduced her to Will and Robin and Emma had urged them to tell her some embarrassing stories about David. David had blushed as red as a tomato when Will had started to tell the story of how David had once drunkenly stolen a chicken out of Granny Lucas yard and being chased by her through the whole town.

He wanted to murder Will for telling his daughter about that, but seeing Emma laugh so wholeheartedly and freely more than made up for his embarrassment.

But once David had mentioned that Robin was Regina's husband, Emma had fallen silent.

"Come on, Emma. You can tell me.", David went on after Emma didn't respond. But she just glared at her beer and shook her head.

Then he decided to try it another way. "I had an interesting week, you know. Your grandfather, well my father, paid me a visit a few days ago. He wanted to talk about you."

Emma gave him a concerned look. He had told her about the difficult relationship he had always had with his father, but he could see in her eyes that she was concerned she had caused him trouble. So David reached out for Emma's hand, which she willingly laid in his, and stroke her hand in a reassuring motion.

"I would love to tell you, you now have a loving grandparent, but I'm afraid all the grandparents that would have loved you with all their hearts have sadly already passed away. My father just came to lecture me about saving my marriage and that I should be 'thinking about my family'. But I told him that was just what I was doing."

A shy smile crept over Emma's face and she held onto his hand a bit tighter. "David, I'm so sorry for causing you so much trouble. First Kathryn and now George. I'm just…" But David didn't let her finish.

"Hey, you are my daughter. I would take every trouble in the world for a chance to get to know you. I know we haven't known each other that long yet, but never doubt that you mean a lot to me, Emma. And most importantly, the trouble was already there. Both with Kathryn and my father. As for my father, I don't care much for his opinion. Not when he wanted to tell me to pretend you didn't exist. I'm not even sure if he didn't know about you in the first place. As for Kathryn, I think it's good for both of us. I was a fool for thinking I could just settle for her and I'd be alright. It wasn't fair for her. I never tried to make her happy, not really. I think this is the wakeup call we both needed. What will happen with her and me has nothing to do with you, I assure you."

Emma didn't look entirely relieved, but she seemed to believe him.

Then David went on to the harder topic. "And I met Mary Margaret." David could feel Emma tense.

"I ran into her at the supermarket, small town and all. Anyway, she told me she was sorry and she wanted to explain everything. But I didn't really let her. And she said she didn't know about your heart condition when she gave you away. I don't know if she lied, but I don't think so." David thought Emma would be relieved to hear that, but she just drew back her hand from him.

"I don't know how you can believe anything this woman says after lying for so long, but I guess I don't know her and you do. But…maybe for you it makes it better that she wasn't so heartless to give away a sick baby. But for me…it means she didn't give me away because she couldn't handle a sick baby, but because she just didn't want me." Emma seemed to try her best to put on a brave face, but David saw this was the thing that had haunted her for her entire life.

"I don't know. I think there is more to the story than either of us knows. I'm sure we are both not ready to hear it now, but I want you to know that if you ever are, I will be there for you so you don't have to do that alone. I will always be there for you, Emma. That is, if you want me to." David declared holding Emma's gaze.

Emma took his hand again. Then, she asked in a more casual tone. "Why did you tell me about your meetings with your father and her?"

"Well, I did that to show you that I won't keep any secrets from you." David smiled at her, wanting to let her know she could tell him anything.

Emma rolled her eyes in annoyance and sighed. "Alright, alright. You want to know why I'm so bummed? Before I came here, Regina came to my room at Granny's and implied something not so nice about my mom."

David didn't need to question that Emma didn't mean Mary Margaret when she said 'mom'.

What did that woman think? Not only did she bother him all week long, but she also bothered Emma? What nerve did she have? She had clearly known about Emma all along and didn't have the decency to tell him about her either. And now she was intruding their lives. That was too much.

"I will make sure she doesn't bother you again, honey. I promise. And whatever she said, don't let it get to you. She loves her sister and would do anything she thinks is helping her. Even if it's not and even if Mary Margaret doesn't want her to."

…

Regina was still awake and reading a book when Robin came home that night. "Did you have fun, baby?" She greeted him. But when she looked up as he sat in bed next to her, he gave her a grim look.

"I heard you talked to Emma today."

"So? I can do what I want.", she snapped back.

"Regina, you have to stop that! You must leave David and Emma alone. If they want to hear Mary Margaret's side of the story, they will decide to do it on their own." Robin's tone was rather harsh.

When his wife turned away from him, he sighed in defeat. Being mad at his pregnant wife never lasted long.

So he crawled onto the bed to lie next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

Then he talked in a gentler voice while stroking her head. "Sweetheart, I know you only want to help Mary Margaret. But by interfering, you are doing quite the opposite. David said Emma was very down after you talked to her and that she was sure Mary Margaret had told you to come and talk bad about her adoptive mother. So if you want to help your sister, I'm afraid you have to let things be."

Regina growled before turning to face her husband and burry her head in his chest. "Alright."

…

"Are we there yet?" Henry asked for what seemed like the millionth time. Killian just chuckled.

Killian and Henry were to meet Emma in Storybrooke, so they could spend the weekend getting to know David. It had been quite a fight to get Henry to stay and not drive with Emma on Friday. But Emma didn't have to work that day, and Henry had been invited to one of his friends' birthday party, so he couldn't come.

That morning, Henry had crawled into Killian's bed at the crack of dawn and urged him to get up. Trying to get more sleep had not really been successful with a little boy lying by his side and asking him every five minutes if he was awake yet. So Killian had accepted his defeat and gotten ready for their drive.

"In fact, yes. We should be at the town line in about ten minutes. I guess I don't have to ask if you are excited to meet David.", Killian said with a chuckle.

The little boy nodded enthusiastically.

"When are you going to marry mommy?", Henry asked curiously.

The sudden change of subject threw Killian of for a minute. "Why are you asking, lad?"

"Well, now I have a grandpa. And grandpas lead mommies down the aisle to marry. Is that not why you didn't marry mommy yet?" The little boy's cleverness never ceased to amaze Killian.

"No, that was not it. I just thought it was not the right time yet. And I didn't think mommy was ready for it yet. And with all of this going on right now, I think I should wait for a bit before I ask her."

"But why? You love mommy and mommy loves you. And then, I can have brothers and sisters and you can be my daddy.", Henry insisted.

That statement hit Killian right in the heart and it made it very hard for him to focus his eyes on the road and not on the little boy on the backseat of his car.

"Henry, if you want me to I can already be your daddy. It's not necessary for me to marry your mother. The only important thing for that is that you love me and I love you. And that is not a problem, right?"

Henry thought for a moment before responding. "Okay. But you still have to marry soon. I want a brother and a sister."

Killian laughed at that. "Alright, little lad. I'll see what I can do."

When they arrived at Granny's, Henry had fallen asleep. The excitement and the early rising had been too much for the little boy.

So Killian carried Henry into the diner. He tried to ignore the heartbreaking look that came from Mary Margaret who was having breakfast with a redheaded woman.

He went straight to Granny and asked for the key to Emma's room.

She was more than happy to give him the key and lead him to it. With a smile at Henry's sleeping form, she declared: "I must say, your son looks exactly like you."

Killian looked down at the little sleeping boy in his arms. He didn't bother to explain that he wasn't Henry's biological father and could therefore not pass on his looks to Henry.

Killian had been there for Emma during her pregnancy, had been there (along with Neal) when Emma had given birth to him. He had changed diapers, told bedtime stories and scared away monsters. It didn't matter to him if he hadn't helped create Henry, he was just as much his father as Neal was.

So all Killian said in return to Granny was "thank you", before she helped him into the room and he lay down his son into the bed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"I'm not tired at all! I don't need a nap!", Henry whined. Emma and Killian had taken him for a walk through Storybrooke, but the little boy's only concern was to finally meet David. Emma was a slightly concerned about her son's first meeting with David, not knowing if she was afraid Henry would overwhelm David with his openness and forwardness and ultimately scare him away, resulting in a heartbroken Henry and Emma, or if they would not like each other at all. But Killian had softly assured her that it was just her natural fear of rejection coming through and that David and Henry would love each other.

They met David at his house, away from prying eyes. As soon as David opened the door, the little boy threw himself at him. A big smile spread on David's face. "I guess you must be Henry. I have been dying to meet you. Your mom told me so much about you."

When Henry let go of David, he turned back to his mother. "Can I call him 'grandpa'?"

Emma's look wandered from her son to David and with a shy expression, she declared: "If it is okay with David, then of course."

David kneeled so he was at Henry's eye level. "It would be my pleasure, Henry." When Henry hugged him again, he happily returned it. Emma felt Killian wrap his arm around her back and gently caress her side. "I guess you come from a very open and welcoming family.", he whispered into her ear, as she soaked in the sight of her son and her father immediately hitting it off. Emma had heard enough about her own grandfather to know that was not entirely true, but she didn't think that someone like that mattered to her, so she nodded in return.

The whole dinner is filled with Henry's chatter about everything and nothing. If it hadn't been for Killian sometimes interrupting him and telling him he should take a bite, the little boy might have not eaten at all. David watched with delight how Killian cut Henry's meat, wiped food from his cheeks, told him to eat his peas and occasionally stroke over his head. When they are finished, Emma takes her son to the bathroom to clean him and his clothes up. "When we are at home, he is very careful. Well, most times. But once we are out to eat, he manages to smear his food all over himself, from his toes to his hair.", Emma excused them. But David only gave her a smile and said it was probably because of his excitement and that he himself also managed to spill his food on his clothes in public.

As Killian helped David clear out the table, David gave the other man an intense look. "You and Henry seem to be very close, Killian."

Killian just shrugged. "I was there for him since the day he was born and I live with him. I guess it's just bound to happen."

"I don't think so. My own father and I were never that close. But I'm glad you guys are." David paused for a moment, not knowing if he should really say what he wanted to. "I hear you and Emma have been dating for over four years." Killian nodded, so David went on. "This may seem odd to ask, but why aren't you guys married?"

Killian chuckled. He and Emma got this question a lot. "Well, if you get to know Emma better, you will learn she dislikes change. We are very happy the way things are, so I guess she never saw a reason to change things. As for me, I have no desire to push her into anything. I am waiting until I think she's ready for it. But I know it will not change anything about our want me to ask you for her hand, mate?", he finished playfully.

But Killian's playfulness was met with sadness. "I am afraid you know my daughter way better than me and that I have no right in the world to say anything about her relationships."

Killian regretted his bluntness and laid a hand on David's shoulder. "Hey, it was not your fault. And you are here for her now. That's what counts." After David gave him a thankful smile, Killian decided to stay with the unpleasant matters. "Well, now that you asked me a question, I think it's only fair I get one as well. What happened with you and Mary Margaret?"

David sank down to a stool in the kitchen. "That is a very good question. Mary Margaret and I…we were…" He paused, searching for the right words. "I know as teenagers you think what you feel will never change and that you will love your high school sweetheart forever. That is what I felt. Mary Margaret and I, we were soulmates, true love. It was everything. She was my Snow White and I was her Prince Charming. Everyone rolled their eyes at us because we never got out of the honeymoon phase, but we didn't care. And one day, she was nervous all day. I asked her what was troubling her, but she just kissed me, stroke my cheek and told me she loved me and that everything was fine. That was the last kiss we ever had. After that day, everything had changed. I went to greet her the next day in school and tried to kiss her, but she just pushed me away and practically ran from me. Not long after she just left school. She came back in October and was completely changed. Mary Margaret had always been and a warm, open, happy and positive person. But when she came back, something inside her had broken. I tried to talk to her, ask her what I had done wrong, but she just told me we could never be together. I thought she just needed time, but… well, here we are, over 25 years later and…I don't know. Since I know about Emma, I play everything back in my mind and ask myself if I could have done something different, if there were any signs I had missed."

"I'm sorry, mate, but that sounds like you never really gave up on Mary Margaret.", Killian stated after eying David carefully.

Before David could return something, they heard Henry's voice calling for them.

…

Meeting his grandson had been a wonderful experience for David. The little boy was so open, honest and curious, it was hard not to love him. Not that David had tried to prevent Henry from finding a place in his heart. His open nature, he had clearly inherited from Mary Margaret. But he was still mad at her, so he tried not to think of her, but focus on hanging the picture his grandson had drawn for him to his fridge. A picture of Emma, Henry and himself, that Killian had thankfully shot for him, was already standing in a frame on his office desk.

His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps and the call of his name.

He smiled as he saw Kathryn approach him. The hug in which he pulled his wife in was rather stiff.

Kathryn gave him a serious look as she pulled away and motioned for him to sit down.

"David, for the last two weeks, I thought about the situation. About our marriage. I believe you, you didn't know anything about your daughter. That's not the point. The point is, I see how happy you are that you have her. I was always so disappointed that we didn't have children. I thought it would give us both what we wanted, what we couldn't give each other. But now, I am glad we didn't. Children should be made from love, like Emma was. I love you, David, but not like this. When we got married, I thought you would one day forget Mary Margaret. But let's be honest, that never happened. And I am not mad about that. I am mad that we both let our fathers push us into something that we knew would prevent our happiness. But I don't want to waste any more time."

She pulled out a stack of papers and offered it to him. "I know this must seem rushed, but I gave this a serious thought. I want to have what you have. A family. So I want a divorce."

Kathryn seemed more determined than David had ever seen her in his life. But she also seemed a bit nervous about his reaction. He gently took her hand. "You are absolutely right. No matter what, I want you to be happy. So let's not let our fathers have any say in this and let us just do this. Then we can both live our lives the way we always wanted to. I hope you find someone who makes you happy and have many children. And maybe you can even fulfill your wish and study law. I know you could do it."

The hug Kathryn pulled her husband in was sincere. They talked everything over, discussed what should happen to their belongings and agreed to see a lawyer together as soon as possible. And they also decided to not tell people about it until their divorce was finalized, so their fathers wouldn't interfere. When Kathryn left later that evening, he thought this was the best and most honest talk they had ever had in their relationship. And he also realized, for the first time in years, he was free to love whoever he wanted to.

…

Emma has pushed the subject away for almost a month. A month since she had met David. A month of meeting, skyping and texting with her father. She finally felt more complete, but something was still pushing her down. The fact that after a month she had not told her mother about this. She hadn't lied about it, but keeping it from her was just as bad. She had never kept things from Ingrid. Even her pregnancy had been revealed to her mother after just two days of Emma herself knowing about it. So this was weighing heavily on her.

But today, she was alone at her mother's. She was helping Ingrid prepare dinner as they were waiting for Elsa, Liam, Anna and Kristof. Killian and Neal had taken Henry out on a sailing trip.

Ingrid was jauntily walking around the kitchen and telling her about the new ice cream flavor Elsa and she had invented.

But Emma knew she had to take advantage of the moment they had alone, so she worked up her courage.

"Mom, I have to tell you something." Ingrid gave Emma a curious look at her serious tone.

"What is it, honey? Are you pregnant again? Or engaged? If you secretly got married, I'm afraid I must kill my son-in-law and hide his body in my freezer.", Ingrid joked to lighten the mood. But Emma's expression stayed serious, so Ingrid began to be worried.

"It's actually nothing bad, you know. It is actually good. And I feel bad to have kept this from you. You're my mom and I love you and I hate keeping things from you. But I was afraid to hurt your feelings."

"Honey, please just tell me. You are really worrying me."

Emma thought she had never been so nervous in her life. But then she thought back to standing in front of David's door and told herself she pulled through that and that it had not been as bad as she had pictured it in her head. "Alright, some weeks ago, I asked Graham to look for someone for me. For my dad."

Ingrid gasped, but Emma just went on. If she stopped now, she knew she would be too scared to resume. "And I met him. His name is David and he is just the nicest person. Killian and I visited him in Storybrooke…"

But Ingrid interrupted her. "You went to Storybrooke? Emma! I am your mother! I am the only one who has always been there for you. I am the only mother you need. Your so-called birth parents didn't care for you and threw you away like you were nothing. These people don't deserve your attention! I am your mother. And the woman who gave birth to you will do anything to tear you away from me. She will tell you lies to lure you back, to make me look bad. So I want you to never go back there!" Ingrid practically screamed at her and gripped her arms so tight, Emma was sure she would have bruises later.

Emma watched her mother in shock. After a while, she got her confidence back. "I am a grown woman and you can't tell me what to do. I will go back to Storybrooke and I will see my father again. I have no intention of replacing you, but you just confirmed why I didn't tell you before. And you should know that you raised me better than to blindly believe everything someone tells me. For now, I have no intention of seeing my birthmother. But if I do, it is my decision and no one else's."

Ingrid couldn't reply to this as the bell rang and Anna was bursting through the door, happily explaining what toys and clothes she had bought for her future niece or nephew.

Ingrid acted as if nothing had happened and Emma tried not to show her emotions to the others. Ingrid's outburst had shaken her and something about it was nagging at her that maybe what Regina had told her was true after all. But she knew that she wouldn't get an honest answer from her mother just now, so it was no use to try. For now.

…

Mary Margaret was sitting in the park and eating her lunch on a sunny Friday at the beginning of August. It had been a few weeks since Emma had shown up in Storybrooke and Kathryn Nolan had left. Not all people were friendly to her again, but the gossip about her had lessened. Everything was now focused on the recent birth of Regina and Robin's new baby boy Tom, Zelena dumping yet another man, and Doc being seen to sneak out of Granny's house in the early morning in ruffled clothes and with a satisfied grin.

Mary Margaret had not spoken to David since their bump in at the supermarket, but when she had seen him last week passing across the street, he had given her a polite smile. It was not much, but she saw this as a small victory.

"You know, eating outside on a bench is not very graceful. No wonder you don't have a man. You just show no effort.", she heard a cold voice beside her.

She didn't have to turn around to know that her stepmother Corawas sitting beside her.

"Cora, I can't believe you actually came to see your grandson. Roland was almost one when you saw him first and that was just because Regina took him to visit you.", Mary Margaret returned in an equally cold tone.

Cora just gave her one of her icy smiles. An outsider would think she actually cared for her stepdaughter. "You are right, for once. I am here because you disgraced the family once more and dragged us into a scandal."

Mary Margaret couldn't believe this woman. "A scandal? Yes, everyone is mad at me for giving up my baby and not telling David that he had a child. But you and I both know that while I am not completely innocent, the idea and desire to keep all of it a secret came from you."

"None of that matters, dear. I would do exactly the same again to protect the good name of my family. This is why I came to get you to talk some sense in your ex-lover and stop him from bringing this…girl into town again. If she keeps coming here, your shame will never be forgotten."

Her stepdaughter was not impressed by her demand and sneered. "Let me guess, your very good friend George Nolan brought your attention to this matter and asked you to command me to talk to David about this, because David didn't care about his interference. But I don't care about what you want. Even if I could, I would never ask David to give up our daughter. I have kept them from each other for long enough and I am happy they have found each other and have gotten so close." Then another thought crossed her mind. "I want you to be honest with me for once in your life. Did you know about Emma's heart disease?"

A superior grin spread over Cora's face that made Mary Margaret's blood freeze. "I knew you have never given that child away if you had known. So I made sure you didn't. A teenager with a child, even more a sick child, what would that have done to the public image of our family? Not to mention that it would have been an unnecessary weight to our finances. So I did what I had to do for the good of the family."

Mary Margaret was speechless. Her family was well situated. The only weight on her family's finances had been the lifestyle Cora had held up. She had always known Cora was the most cold-hearted person she had ever met, but the depths of it surprised her.

But Cora went on. "Besides, I had hoped the sickness would prevent this current situation and the problem would solve itself."

It was Cora's turn to be shocked when Mary Margaret slapped her hard on the face. She held her cheek in horror. "You foolish child! I could have you arrested for that."

But Mary Margaret was unimpressed. Her face was red from anger. "Feel free to call the sheriff, but I'm sure he will be on my side with this. You should leave, now. And don't you ever dare to speak about my child again!"

For the first time in her life, Cora was speechless and did what she was told.


	10. Chapter 10

_**So, this chapter will have Emma face Ingrid and find out what Regina had indicated about her. And will also bring Emma a step closer to David.**_

 _ **...**_

 **Chapter 10**

"It's really nice here. I can understand why you live here.", David exclaimed happily as he sat with Emma in the park close to Emma's apartment in late August. David was there on a visit to see where his daughter lived and to meet her friends and family.

Emma had been a bit nervous about this, but when she saw how great David got along with Lily, Graham and Neal, she was relieved. He had even urged her friends to join in on her next visit to Storybrooke, which would be in a week when he himself got back.

She had only known her father for about three months, but it was as if he had always been in her life. Their relationship was so easy. She was always delighted to learn about things they had in common or hear another story about him as a child or her grandmother Ruth. The only shadow on his visit was him meeting Ingrid.

Emma and Killian had invited Emma's family over for dinner to meet David. Anna and Elsa had been absolutely excited and eager to meet him, but Ingrid had only given Emma an icy glance at the invitation. Since Emma had first told her mother about David, their relationship had cooled down a bit and neither of them had brought up the topic again. But she wished her mother would give David a chance. Her whole life she had wished for a mother and a father. Now that she had both, she would like nothing more than to be happy about it and have both of them in her life, together. They didn't have to love each other, just being in the same room at the same time without one of them wanting to kill the other would be nice. Her birthday was in October and it would be a perfect day, if she could celebrate it with her whole family.

It had been quite mortifying for Emma to tell her father that Ingrid didn't want to see him. But with his positive nature, he was sure as soon as he met her this whole thing could be fixed. Sadly, Emma didn't have his confidence about it.

"I don't know, I'm not so fond of living in a big city. It was during college, but now with Henry growing up… I think I would prefer a quieter life. But when you raise a child with its father and a boyfriend, the decision of where you live is not entirely up to you.", Emma responded.

"Growing up in a small town was nice, I have to say. But once you were a teenager and every stupid thing you and your friends did were reported to your parents before you even got home, it was not so nice anymore." At David's comment, they both laughed. "Emma, are you planning to have more children in the future?"

Emma thought for a moment. "I know Henry would love it. But I'm not so sure about Killian. He didn't even ask for this child. And I know that Killian is pretty old fashioned and would want to be married before we have more kids. So, I'm afraid the ball is his to play. I don't even know if he wants to get married."

David's first impulse was to laugh at that. He hadn't known Killian and Emma for too long, but everyone who watched them for two minutes could see, that they deeply, madly and truly loved each other. But the insecure look in Emma's eyes made him wrap his arm around his daughter instead. "I'm sure he would like nothing more than to marry you. He would be a fool if he didn't."

That cheered Emma up a bit. "Please, you're only saying that because you're my…"

But Emma was cut off by her phone ringing. She looked down at it and a mix of anger and despair flashed over her face. Before David could ask what was wrong, she told him she had to leave right away. She gave David the spare keys to her apartment so he could wait inside and assured him she would be back soon and that he had nothing to worry about. David didn't really look convinced, but he didn't want to worry her any further or keep her from what she had to do.

Emma angrily slammed the door as she arrived at her mother's house.

"I would be happy if you would be more gentle with my door, sweetheart." Ingrid's voice was icy. That only fueled Emma's anger.

"What is this about you not coming to family dinner? David has never done anything to you. You don't even know him. What is going on with you lately?" Emma stood in front of Ingrid, but her mother just turned away from her.

"What is going on with me? The better question is what your problem is." Now she turned to face her daughter, showing her red eyes. She had obviously been crying. But in her current state, that didn't touch Emma. "Emma, we were happy all these years. I am your mother. You and I, that is all you need to be happy. I don't want you to see them. They only want to take you away from me!"

Emma angrily shook her head and stepped away from Ingrid. "Do you have any idea what you sound like? No one is trying to take me away from you."

"They already tried once!" Ingrid yelled at the top of her lungs. She had never yelled at Emma like this.

Ingrid's eyes grew wide as she realized what she had just done. She reached out to take Emma's hand, but she just stepped further away from her.

A million thoughts ran through Emma's head at once and tears gathered in her eyes, but she couldn't let her emotions overtake her. She had to use this moment to find out the truth.

Her voice was weak, but determined at the same time. "Mary Margaret, she tried to get me back?"

When Ingrid didn't answer, Emma went on. "If you don't want to lose me forever, you better answer now!", she demanded.

Ingrid swallowed heavily a few times and then sank down in her couch. She motioned for Emma to sit down, but Emma only shook her head and gave her an intense stare, urging her to start.

"It was a while after Gerda and Hendrik had died. Anna and Elsa were away for the weekend to visit their grandparents, so it was just you and me. When I opened the door, I thought she was just a saleswoman or something like that. But one look into her eyes was enough to know who she was."

Emma frowned. David had already told her she had Mary Margaret's eyes.

"I wanted to shut the door right into her face, but she begged me to give her a moment. I was sure if I didn't, she would just come back."

 _*Flashback*_

 _Desperation shone in Mary Margaret Blanchard's eyes. "Please, I just want a moment of your time. I guess you are Ingrid Swan."_

 _Ingrid nodded and gave the younger woman an icy glare._

 _"My name is Mary Margaret Blanchard and I'm…Emma's mother."_

 _Anger burst out of Ingrid. "No, I am Emma's mother! You are just some stupid, reckless girl who threw her away like a piece of garbage."_

 _Mary Margaret flinched at Ingrid's yelling. "I was just a teenager when I had her. My father was sick and my stepmother wouldn't support me. But I regret this decision every single day of my life." Then, she straightened her back and mustered her courage to look Ingrid straight into the eyes. "But now I have my life in order. I'm a teacher and I moved into my own apartment. I'm independent now; I can give Emma what she needs. I can take care of her."_

 _A superior grin spread over Ingrid's face. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I am Emma's mother now. By law!"_

 _"I know that. Believe me; I don't want to take Emma away from you. I just want a part in her life. We can both be her mothers. They didn't really give me a choice for an open adoption, but…"_

 _They were interrupted by a little blond seven year old girl sneaking up behind Ingrid. "Mommy, why are you yelling?", little Emma asked curiously._

 _Mary Margaret's eyes watered and her lip trembled as she looked at the little girl, a perfect mixture of her and David. Before she could speak, Ingrid ordered Emma to leave._

 _She was still looking after the little girl, when Ingrid spoke again. "Emma is my daughter and no one else's. So if you dare to ever come close to her again, I will call the police. Leave her alone!"_

 _Then, Ingrid slammed the door into Mary Margaret's shocked and crying face._

 _*Flashback ends*_

When Ingrid was finished with her story, Emma wiped away her tears. So this is why Mary Margaret had looked so familiar. She had seen her before.

"I just can't believe you. All my life, I lived with the belief she wanted nothing to do with me. That she never loved me. And for seventeen years, you knew that was not true and you just kept it from me. How could you do this? You just only thought about yourself and never about me in this. Even if you didn't want to confuse me as a child, I am a grown up now. You had a million opportunities to tell me!"

Ingrid stepped towards her again and tried to comfort her daughter, but this time Emma slapped her hand away. "No! Stay away from me! I don't want to see you anymore!" And with that, she stormed out, ignoring Ingrid desperately calling after her.

…

David didn't have much to do, so he wandered around the living room and looked at the family pictures. He was chuckling at a Halloween picture in which Emma, Killian, Henry and Emma's friends were dressed up as Harry Potter characters, when he heard the front door of the apartment forcefully being shut. When he walked towards the hall, he heard sobbing, so he quickened his steps. He found Emma sunken down next to the door, crying heavily.

"Sweetheart, what is going on?", David asked carefully.

That's when she noticed his presence. Her tear-filled eyes widened for a moment. Then, she threw herself into his arms. When she was safely in his arms, she weakly sobbed. "Daddy," she sobbed weakly when she was safely in his arms.

But David didn't give himself time to savor the feeling of her calling him that for the first time, and gently caressed her back with one hand and cradled the back of her head with the other.

 _ **...**_

 _ **So, I hope you see I never wanted to suggest Mary Margaret was a monster, I just wanted to give it time to unreval the real story behind it. Here it is. In the next chapter, we will see Emma is shaken by Ingrid hiding this from here for so long and she will really, really lose it. So if you are not up for it, then maybe you shouldn't read it. This will be very tough for Captain Swan.**_

 _ **Also in the next chapter, Emma's friends will come to town with love sparking for them; and Henry will question David about his feelings for Mary Margaret.**_

 _ **There are three more chapters left of this story, who will be all posted till the new episode airs this sunday, thanks to my amazing beta musicalfreak22, who did all four chapters in one go.**_

 _ **I wanted to make this story longer and explore the side ships more and the Snowing love story, but so many people hated the story, so that really killed my muse. So I decided to wrap it up and finish it. I am really happy with how it turned out (though I am sure a great number of people will still hate something) and I think I brought it to a good end.**_

 _ **So keep your eyes open for the chapters over the week.**_

 _ **And thanks for everyone, who is reading and actually liking this story and for all the nice comments I got. They really made me happy.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Emma and her friends come to Storybrooke and there is love sparking everywhere, while Emma is not so fine and lost her trust in everyone.**_

 _ **Also, Henry asks David out about Mary Margaret and his feelings for her.**_

 _ **...**_

 **Chapter 11**

"Wow, this town is really something.", Lily exclaimed as she, Graham and Neal exited the car in front of Granny's.

Neal and Graham also looked around. Two women exited the diner just as they were making their way in. The redhead was immediately making eyes with Graham as the dark haired woman pushing a stroller rolled her eyes.

"Dude, we are not even here for two minutes and you already have something going.", Neal complained to his friend.

"You are just jealous you are here with your son and can't have a thing going.", Graham retorted playfully.

"Henry is with David today, so I am free to explore the night life with you guys."

…

Emma was absentmindedly unpacking her things at Granny's.

"Love, are you alright? You seem so upset." Killian tried to approach her, but she just shook her head. She had told him about what had happened with Ingrid. Ingrid had since then tried to talk to Emma, but she didn't want to see her. Killian knew it was only a matter of time until she would forgive her mother, but too much had happened lately and he knew Emma just needed some space. It had gotten to her that David was getting a divorce, which would be finalized soon. It was no use telling her it had nothing to do with her. Emma has been down lately. Not even Henry could cheer her up.

"I think you should go out with the others alone. I'm just not feeling up to it.", she finally said.

Killian wrapped his arm around her side. "If you want to, I will stay with you, love."

"No, I'd rather be alone."

…

The credits of Toy Story were rolling on David's tv when he turned to his very awake grandson.

"Sorry, buddy, but I'm afraid it's bedtime now.", he declared to Henry as he turned off the TV.

But the boy didn't react to it. "Mommy says you are not with your wife anymore."

David nodded. "Yep. We are soon getting a divorce. We have a court hearing in…well, we won't be married anymore in a couple of weeks. Why do you ask?"

"So you can marry Mommy's mommy." It sounded more like he was stating a fact than asking. Deep down, David had always wanted to marry Mary Margaret. He was mad at himself that he didn't put more effort into it.

"I don't think so."

"But you love her, right?" David didn't really have to think long about this. Had he ever stopped loving her? Not really. Even his anger at her for not telling him about Emma had weakened every day a bit more. He would like to talk to her about all of it, but he didn't think Emma would take this well right now. He knew she already felt betrayed and disappointed by her mothers, he didn't want to hurt her any more. So he would just wait until Emma's feelings had settled.

"Yes, I do love her."

Henry sighed heavily. "You love her. So you marry her. Why are grown-ups always so silly."

As he carried his grandson to bed, he had to chuckle. He really wished it would be so easy.

…

"Too bad Emma didn't feel good. I would have liked to spend time with all of you.", August said later that night. He had promised to show them around. He was a fun man that fit into their little group right away.

At the last stop of the night, they had settled at the Rabbit Hole.

"Yes, she is a bit down lately.", Killian replied thoughtfully.

August nodded. "I can totally understand that. I have been adopted myself. Some days I hate it that someone gave me away and other days I couldn't be more happy because no one could be a better parent to me than my papa."

Before Killian could reply anything to that, August's attention was already captured by Lily. The two had been flirting the whole evening. Killian was rather glad about it; they seemed to be a good match for each other. Graham had left almost immediately when they entered the bar to sit with the redhead he had made eyes with earlier that day. As it turned out, she was the sister in-law of one of the bar owners and also Emma's aunt, Zelena Mills.

Killian wanted to leave his friends to their fun and not bother them with his concerns.

"I think I will call it a night. But you guys have fun.", he declared. August and Lily only half-heartedly asked him to stay. "I think I'll join you and leave these lovebirds alone.", Neal said. After a threatening look from Lily, they took their leave.

As the two men made their way back to Granny's, Killian asked: "So there was no one interesting there for you?"

To his surprise, Neal blushed. "No, but when I went to the playground with Henry earlier, I might have gotten the number of a very nice nanny."

Killian grinned. "A nanny? What's her name?" Neal blushed more. "Don't laugh, but her name is Wendy Darling." Of course, Killian did laugh at this.

"And before you ask, it is her real name. I was confused at first, too. But she showed me her ID and said she would have no interest in not seeing such a 'handsome guy' like me again. I guess her parents just had a strange sense of humor and were Peter Pan fans."

When the entered Granny's, Neal took over the interrogation. "Speaking of ladies, when are you finally going to ask Emma?"

"You seriously think now is the right time for that?" Killian gave his friend a serious look as he stood in front of the door of his and Emma's room.

"I just know that the more you delay it, the more likely it is your secret is going to come out.", Neal replied before going into his own room.

…

What Killian didn't know, was that Emma was wide awake and had heard the last piece of their conversation. After everything that had happened, Killian, the person she trusted the most, was also keeping a secret from her. She felt like no one in the world ever told her the truth. Everything she was ever told a lie? The feelings overtook her. She couldn't take this anymore. It felt like the whole world was crumbling around her and this feeling was just too much.

She got up from her bed, furiously gathered her things together and threw by into her suitcase.

Behind her, Killian was entering the room. "Love, what are you doing?", he looked at her in deep concern.

She slowly turned around facing him with her red and tear-stained face and replied in a desperate voice: "I'm leaving you."

 _ **...**_

 _ **Yeah, evil cliffhanger, I know. But I will post the next chapter soon, so you don't have to worry. And if you know me, you know what you picture in your head what will happen is way worse then what I will actually make happen ;)**_

 _ **In the next chapter is finally going to have Emma talking to Mary Margaret and hear her story.**_

 _ **Two more chapters to go and happy ending in sight.**_

 _ **Hope you liked it. Please let me know.**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"What?", Killian asked in total shock as Emma went back to blindly throwing stuff into her suitcase.

He went to stop her and held her wrists tightly. She had no choice but to look at him. "Emma, love, please tell me what is going on. Did I do something? Please, I love you!"

Emma tried to escape his grip so he let go of her. "You love me? You all keep saying that, but it is just a lie! All everyone ever does is lie!"

"What happened, Emma? Please, tell me.", he urged her, not letting goof her gaze.

"You tell me! I heard you and Neal. You are hiding a secret from me. I thought you were the only person in the world who would never do that to me." She sank down to the floor.

Killian's wave of relief about not really having done something bad was forgotten as his heart broke over Emma being so sad and disappointed.

He kneeled down next to her and took her hand. "My love, I promise I didn't lie to you. Please stay here, I will be back in a second and explain everything."

Emma looked at him for a moment and nodded slightly. Killian practically ran out the door and came back only moments later carrying a small velvet box.

He sat down next to her on the ground and took her hand again, glad she let him.

"You see, I got this before you found your father. With everything going on, I thought it was not the right time, so I kept it. In fact, Neal kept it for me, so you wouldn't find it."

Emma's flinching eyebrows showed him he was probably not expressing himself the right way.

"I never thought I would be asking like this. This is hardly the perfect moment, but I want you to understand, how much I love you, Emma Swan. And that I will never do anything to hurt you. You can truly trust me, because my heart only belongs to you, my love. Well, and our little boy, of course."

A shy smile crept onto Emma's lips at the mention of Henry and how much Killian loved their son.

Killian deeply breathed in, before he continued. "So, Emma Swan, since the moment I first saw you standing at Neal's door in your blue dress and with your baby bump, I wanted to ask you that question. Will you marry me?"

Emma gasped. "That was the secret?", she asked in a weak voice.

"I'm afraid so, my love. Henry and Neal helped me with the ring, I also told Liam and I think Lily and Graham assumed something." He waited for a moment. "So?"

Emma chuckled and wiped away her tears. "Oh god, you idiot. Why didn't you ask me right away? I am so, so sorry I ruined everything. I'm just so…so…" Emma stopped shocked.

Killian just pulled her into his arms. "My love, it has all been very much lately. You have been through a lot. And I'm sure I would have been scared too, if I had heard you kept a secret from me. So don't…" But he was stopped by Emma putting a finger to his lips.

"It has been every much lately, but you never gave me a reason to overreact like I just did. You know when I kept overreacting like this the last time?" Emma bright smile was met with a puzzled look from Killian.

She ignored his confusion and threw herself into his arms. "Oh god, can't believe we are getting married and having another baby!"

He enjoyed the embrace a moment before he caught on to what she had just said. "We are?"

"Did you really think I would say no to your proposal? Oh, you mean the baby. Well, I'm not sure yet, but we can get a test tommo…" But then Emma was cut off by Killian pressing his lips to hers. And she very happily returned it.

…

"I'm still pretty mad at my mom for not telling me, but I guess I can somehow see her point. She did do it because she loved me and didn't want to lose me. I had the same feeling about losing her when Elsa and Anna moved in. I loved them, I still do, but I was irrationally mad at him for taking away my mom. Even after Ingrid adopted me, I was jealous of them at first. It had just been me and her and sharing her was not the same. But she told me herself that she didn't love me any less. I wish she had understood that herself.", Emma said the next morning as she lay in their bed at Granny's and Killian was drawing patterns on her naked skin.

"I am afraid you were very much focusing on the negative things, my love. We are all only human and even mothers make mistakes.", Killian replied as he was kissing her flat stomach.

Emma was fully aware that Killian was not just talking about Ingrid. "I guess you're right. Maybe we should get up."

Killian playfully raised his eyebrow. "If I would tell you that they are horrible persons, would you then stay in bed with me." Emma just laughed and threw a pillow at him. "Get off of me now, pirate, and let me get dressed."

As Killian and Emma locked the room to their door, they saw August coming out of Lily's room. He gave them a shy smile. "Good morning, fellows.", he greeted them. "I hope you had a good night."

They both grinned at him. His hair was ruffled, his shirt was not completely tugged into his pants and the rings under his eyes gave away he hadn't gotten much sleep that night.

"Well, we certainly don't have to ask if your night was good.", Killian replied mockingly.

Lily's door opened, revealing the young woman. "Baby, you forgot your…watch." She paused as she saw Emma and Killian standing in the hallway. "Hey guys."

August put on his watch and then gave Lily an intense kiss. He turned towards Emma and Killian and said: "Well, I must go now. My papa is waiting for me at the shop. I'll see you soon."

As he walked out, Emma turned to Lily and wanted to ask her all about her night. But just then, Graham walked in, carrying his shoes and his look very similar to August's, with a smug smile on his face.

Emma just laughed. "I see you guys are enjoying this town very much."

Graham patted her back. "The trip here was the best idea you ever had."

Neal came out of his room, giving his friends a confused look. "What are you guys up to?" Then he turned to look at Emma's hand. "Dude, finally!", he exclaimed as he saw the engagement ring sitting on her finger.

Emma looked down at her hand, having totally forgotten about the big news. "Yeah, we are getting married."

Lily stepped out into the hall, not caring she was just in her sleeping shirt and panties. Graham let his shoes fall to the ground. They all pulled Killian and Emma in a big group hug. After a moment, Neal let them go. "Now, if you excuse me. I have a date." They all looked after him in disbelief before bursting out into laughter.

…

Mary Margaret was a bit confused when she heard her doorbell ring early on that Saturday morning.

She was even more surprised to find Emma standing at her door.

"May I come in?", Emma asked her shyly. Mary Margaret nodded eagerly and moved for her to come in.

"Do you want something to drink? I was just making myself cocoa.", Mary Margaret offered. She had imagined being with her daughter so many times, but now she just didn't know what to say.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I like cocoa." There was an awkward silence between the two women as Mary Margaret prepared the beverages.

Emma used the moment to look around the apartment for a moment. "You have a very nice home." It was all very open and in light colors. The antic furniture was very lovely. Something about this place felt just like David's house.

When Mary Margaret put the cup down in front of Emma, she paused for a moment. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even ask if you drink it with cinnamon. It is just such a habit to prepare it like this…"

"It's okay, I drink it with cinnamon, too. Once I sent Killian out in the middle of the night, because we were out and Henry and I just needed it because we wouldn't drink our cocoa without it." Emma smiled at the memory. "Henry is my son."

Mary Margaret nodded. "Yeah, I heard." She waited for Emma to start. She had learned it didn't get her any further if she pushed things.

"I…I came here because…I learned you once tried to contact me. That you tried to be in my life. And that kind of changed my belief that you just didn't want me.", Emma started, not meeting Mary Margaret's eyes.

"Oh Emma, I did want you. Your father is the love of my life and I…you are…" It was not easy to control her emotions, but it at least got Emma to look at her.

And then she told her the whole story. About her family, her father's sickness, how she found out she was pregnant, how Cora had done everything to get rid of Emma and how she could never really talk to David again.

"I wanted to get my life in order before I could get you back…and him. But when I was ready and Regina pulled some strings to find you, you were already adopted. I was sad, when I found out, but I was also relieved you had found a home and you were happy. Your mother…she was very clear about me not getting to see you. I understand her, she didn't want to lose you. I saw that day, beneath her anger, that she truly loved you and would do anything to protect you."

Emma chuckled. That was true; Ingrid was a lioness of a mother.

"So I at least knew you had a good home. I thought about meeting you when you were older. But I didn't want to disrupt your world and I guess I was also afraid you wouldn't want me. When I drove home that day, I had every intention of finally telling David about you. But at his door, I ran into his mother, who told me about him getting engaged to Kathryn. And I had a feeling she knew about you, because she told me 'please let him be. He will have a different family now.'. But maybe I am reading too much in this." She had always liked Ruth, but just like her own father, she let her spouse control her too much.

"Well, that's it." Mary Margaret ended and waited for some kind of reaction from Emma.

"I still think you should have told David. That was not okay."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I am really sorry I didn't. I already told him that."

Emma's expression was unreadable to her. "I know. He told me." She paused again. "But I don't think you are a bad person, or anything." Mary Margaret had never been so relived in her whole life.

"And maybe, when I visit David, we can see each other, too, from time to time.", Emma continued, trying to sound casual. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

"I would really like that, Emma. I have no intention of replacing your mother, who has raised you so well. I only want a place in your life. That is, if you want that." Mary Margaret was trying to stay calm, but she couldn't keep the tears of joy running down her face.

Emma gave her a shy smile. "I guess that would be nice."

Mary Margaret gently stroke Emma's hand. Then, she wiped away her tears and went to prepare a new load of cocoa. "Well then, why don't I make us more cocoa with cinnamon, while you tell me all about this sparkling ring on your finger and the handsome man that put it there."

Emma chuckled relieved, and she happily began to talk about one of her favorite topics: Killian.

 _ **...**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you didn't expect it that way ;)**_

 _ **So, for the last chapter, all that is missing is a porion of Snowing and a big fluffy happy ending. Hope you will like it. It will be posted tommorrow.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**So, this is it. The last chapter of the story. I am happy how it turned out and I hope you will like it too.**_

 _ **Thanks to my beta musicalfreak22 for putting up with me and my bad spelling and grammar. And thanks to everyone, who has read the story and liked it and for leaving nice comments for me. They really pulled me through and not make me delete the story (which I wanted to do a couple of times, I admit).**_

 _ **You guys are wonderful!**_

 _ **...**_

 **Chapter 13**

"I have to tell you something." David turned to Kathryn. "I'm pregnant.", she declared.

David smiled at her and pulled her in for a hug. "Congratulations! I am so happy for you and Frederick."

It was late October and they were walking out of the courthouse, now finally divorced. Kathryn had gotten back with her old college crush, whom her father had not allowed her to marry back then. But now, she was more confident. She had moved to Seattle, where her boyfriend was living and where she was studying law, like she had always wanted to. And now, another one of her wishes had come true.

"I would ask to be invited to the wedding, but I guess that would be a bit too much." David winked at her.

"Probably. But I am so glad you are happy for me. And I really hope you will soon be happy yourself."

David gave her a confused look. "I am happy. I have a daughter, a grandson, another grandchild on the way."

Kathryn rolled her eyes at him. "Oh David, you know that is not what I am talking about."

…

"No, no, Swan. You will sit down and rest!", Killian ordered his fiancé. Emma sighed in annoyance, but sat down anyway as Killian continued decorating the room.

"I'm just four months pregnant, not going to pop any day now, man! Stop fussing. I am barely showing yet.", she complained.

Next to her on the couch sat Elsa, who just laughed and caressed her own pregnant belly. She was already seven months along, with twins. "The Jones men and their offspring. Liam refused to believe the doctor when she told us there was no need for me to go to bed rest yet."

The brothers both laughed as they decorated the room together with Graham and Henry.

"Hey, I am already an overprotective daddy.", Killian complained and ruffled Henry's hair. "Oh, he is.", the little boy joined in.

"Go help your grandma in the kitchen and make sure the cake is good.", Emma shooed their son away, who happily obeyed.

They were preparing a birthday celebration for Emma. Everyone was coming over from Storybrooke to celebrate the big day. So, due to a lack of room, they were celebrating at Ingrid's house.

Emma had not stayed mad at her mother for very long. Perhaps because she was so overjoyed at finally getting married to Killian and having another baby. The only person happier about the baby was possibly Henry. Graham had once warned him, that babies were pretty loud sometimes, but he had just declared he was already an expert on babies after spending a few nights over at his new best friend Roland's place, whose baby brother Tom was pretty loud.

Everything was quite perfect for Emma right then. Never in her whole life had she pictured herself like this: engaged to the most wonderful man, having the sweetest son and another baby on the way (probably not the last), surrounded by her friends and family and, especially, with her parents.

The relationship between Emma and Mary Margaret had a rocky start, but you would never guess it, if you saw them together now. Mary Margaret was now just as important to her as David and Ingrid were. The only sad thing was that her only living grandparent, George Nolan, didn't like her. She now counted Regina and Zelena as her aunts, but Cora absolutely didn't count as her grandmother. But after all she had heard about him, George was probably just as horrible as Cora and was not worth it to be sad about.

And when she looked around her, all she saw was love.

Wendy and Neal, who were not so secretly sneaking kisses from each other.

Graham and Zelena, who were making eyes with each other across the room.

Lily and August, who were holding hands with each other under the table.

Anna and Kristof planning on being the next ones with a kid.

Regina and Robin amusing their baby.

Liam and Elsa feeling their babies kick.

Ingrid showing Henry and Roland how to make frosting.

And, of course, Killian looking at her like she was the sun and moon.

But suddenly, she realized that David and Mary Margaret were missing. Were they running late?

…

Mary Margaret rushed from her car, just to see that everyone else had obviously already arrived. She had gotten into her car, but had forgotten the present. Then, she had already driven away from her hotel, only to realize, she had forgotten Ingrid's address in her room. She should really listen to Emma and save such things in her phone.

As she was just approaching the door, she heard someone call for her. "Mary Margaret, wait!"

She turned to see it was David. "David, I am so happy I am not the last one to arrive.", she joked. But David's expression was serious.

"Yeah, I came right here from my appointment. Kathryn and I had our court hearing today.", he explained.

"I hope it went well." David and she had talked about everything after Emma had come to her. She was glad they were on better terms now. Deep down she hoped that now that the secret was out, they could go back to being a couple, but she knew too much had happened since they split up and it was probably too late.

"It went great. We are divorced now and are both so relieved about it. Kathryn's studies are going well and they are even expecting a baby."

An honest smile spread over Mary Margaret's face. "I am so happy for her."

She turned to ring the doorbell, but David caught her arm before she could.

"David, what are you doing?", she asked a bit confused, as she turned towards him.

To her surprise, he let go of her wrist, only to cup her face with his hand and wrap his other arm around her. "What I should have done twenty-five years ago, Snow." And with that he kissed her. Her confusion lasted a moment longer, but then she passionately kissed him back, like she wanted to do for so long. And like she wanted to do for the rest of her days.

…

Emma opened the front door, only to find Mary Margaret and David kissing. She rolled her eyes. "Mom, dad, is that really necessary. You are scaring my little brother!", she exclaimed mockingly.

David and Mary Margaret looked at the toddler playing on their living room floor. He just looked up from playing to notice his older sister was standing in the door. "Em!", he exclaimed and got on his little feet to run towards her.

When Emma picked him up to greet him, David and Mary Margaret watched their children happily.

After the birth of their daughter Dawn, Killian and Emma had moved to Storybrooke. They had both always wanted to live in a small town. And after Emma had been offered the job as the deputy sheriff, the decision was made. It was a bonus that the other new deputy of the town was Graham. She would have never taken away Henry from Neal, so this was the only factor that delayed her decision. But to her happiness, he was more than glad to move along with them, as things with Wendy were getting serious. And of course Lily was in no mood to be left behind, especially when she could now see August whenever she wanted.

Ingrid was not so delighted by Emma's decision to move, but when Emma pointed out that Ingrid's only reason to ever stay in her old house, were her girls and she was now free to go where she wanted. So Ingrid had left her shop in Boston to the care of Elsa and Anna and opened a new flourishing business in Storybrooke.

Mary Margaret and David had gotten back together after their kiss at Emma's birthday party. Emma had been really happy for them, Regina's only reaction was 'Finally!' and Kathryn had sent him a winking emoji with the text 'I told you so'. And after wasting so much time, they had no desire to take things slow. So they got married on New Year's Day and were so even married before Killian and Emma. And Emma didn't mind that at all.

And now, they had two year old Leo and Emma, who had just herself had another baby boy.

"I left Killian at home to enjoy the day with the kids. I think the other guys are coming over later with their kids. I can't believe it is Graham's and August's first time.", Emma said. She could hardly believe that on this day exactly five years ago, she had hated this day.

"I guess we should get this little man ready, so we can start the fun. And next year, our little sister can join us.", she went on and gently rubbed Mary Margaret's pregnant belly.

Then, she turned to David, with her little brother still in her arms. She hugged him and said the words she had always wanted to say on this day and now used every opportunity to do so. "Happy father's day, daddy."


End file.
